Strike at the Heart
by Optimistique
Summary: A true warrior attacks not the body, but the heart. A demon who wants revenge and a servant who wants to eliminate distraction cast a spell on Rin that causes demons to want to kill her. Sesshomaru must find a way to stop it. Takes place 6 mo. post-manga
1. Chapter 1

**Strike at the Heart**

**Chapter One**

Hisao the demon guard waited silently in the night. With his sharp senses, he could smell that the person he had come to meet was not far away. He smelled like a cat. A demon of the snow leopard tribe, to be exact, and one of the last of his kind. After all, rumor had it that the great Lord Sesshomaru had put to death the rest of his clan.

Hisao knew the other demon was ready and anticipating his arrival, but he preferred to make him wait for a bit. He needed to be in control of this meeting, and the delay implied a sense of authority. He also needed a moment to calm his slightly ruffled nerves. If his Lady, or especially if her son Lord Sesshomaru, discovered that he was here, it could mean his life. But Hisao had a mission to accomplish, with or without the approval of his liege.

Holding his chin high, Hisao stepped quietly through the woods until he came upon his target. The other demon found him immediately with sharp yellow eyes. His form was slender, humanoid, and graceful despite the frown tainting his face. The robes he wore were of a fine quality, though it seemed clear that they had not been washed for some time, and a spotted white leopard's tail twitched agitatedly behind him.

"You are late," the demon observed sourly.

"Apologies," Hisao replied coolly. "Can I assume you are Kitashi of the snow leopard tribe?"

The other gave a curt nod. "And you are? Your messages were somewhat ambiguous. I came only because of your promise for a swift revenge on Sesshomaru."

"And I will keep my word. It was too dangerous to say so with written messages, but I am Hisao, captain of the guard at the Great Dog Demon's palace. I was in the service of Lord Sesshomaru's father for two centuries before his untimely demise, and have been faithfully serving his mate and their son for another two."

The leopard demon's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Then what business do you have with me?" He then quickly frowned once more. In a swift cat-like motion, he crouched and held one hand out in front of him, revealing sharp claws. "If this is a trap..."

"No trap," Hisao replied calmly. "No tricks. I simply think you and I have something in common: we both take issue with Lord Sesshomaru."

Kitashi relaxed only slightly. "How so?"

"First of all I must make certain of your resolve: are the rumors that speak of My Lord devastating your clan correct? If so, what would you do to take your revenge on him?"

The demon barred his teeth, letting out a hiss-like sound. "The bastard murdered my _entire tribe!_ I would see him strung from a tree with the birds feasting on his innards! We were expanding the borders of our territory and killing as necessary, but we did _not _step within his lands!"

"I believe Lord Sesshomaru would disagree with you there, but in truth that does not concern me either way. All I needed was confirmation of your determination, for the proposition I have is a risky one. Tell me how it is that you survived my Lord's attack."

Kitashi growled. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because if my suspicions are correct, you are not strong enough to take on Sesshomaru alone. Mind you, there are few who are."

The feline demon paused, considering Hisao. Then he reluctantly confirmed, "I was on a hunting trip, just nearing our camp, when the attack happened. I saw it from afar. The dog demon only swung his sword _once._ But the destruction continued through everyone it touched, and then everyone who touched them. The whole clan was gone in minutes."

The guard nodded slowly. "Bakusaiga. Lord Sesshomaru's weapon of power. In many ways, he has come to equal his father." Here he let a frown form on his face. "But he has also inherited one unbecoming quality. He returned to the palace about three and a half years ago. None of us had seen him in decades. At first glance, he had not changed. Still persistent, calculating, and deadly. So much like a combination of his parents. But with him he brought two human children. Not only did he make no move to harm them, it quickly became clear that he was _protecting _them. One in particular. A small girl. He jumped headlong into the meidou to rescue her when she was sucked in, and would not return until he had retrieved her body, even though my Lady offered him a way out. When he brought her back, dead, it was clear that he was distraught. He was so relieved when his mother revived the girl that he actually bent down and _touched _this human in what I can only assume was a compassionate gesture.

"I'm afraid he will follow in his father's footsteps. The Inu no Taisho came to care so much about a mortal woman, that he met his demise trying to save her. I would not see this happen to his son as well. He is the best hope the dog demons have for a powerful, conquering leader."

Kitashi crossed his arms. "Why did you send for me then? I want Sesshomaru dead, and you obviously do not."

Hisao's lips twisted into a wry smile. "Our problems may be different, but the answer is the same. You want to harm Lord Sesshomaru to enact revenge; I want merely to set him back on the right path. The solution to both is to kill the human girl he's attached to."

Hisao watched as the leopard demon's tail began twitching again. He was interested. The guard captain continued, "I would not risk my position or my favor with my master, and so I cannot kill the child myself. That's why I've been in search of someone with a strong enough desire to do it for me."

"Need someone to do the dirty work, eh?" Kitashi sneered, but still he leaned forward as if to listen better. "I don't like it. This plan doesn't involve Sesshomaru dying."

"Perhaps, but you and I both know that is nearly impossible. Even if you mount an army against him, he can wipe them out with a single swing of Bakusaiga. You've seen so yourself. Instead, you can strike him where he will be most vulnerable: his heart."

Kitashi was silent for a moment, crossing his arms and staring at the grass beneath his feet. Finally he said, "How am I supposed to kill this human if Sesshomaru protects her?"

"She no longer travels with him," Hisao answered at once. "About three years ago, he left her at a human village. It's taken me a long time to find out exactly where that is, but I finally have."

The other demon looked up quickly. "So she's unprotected?"

"Not exactly. The village she lives in is also inhabited by the Great Dog Demon's other son, Inuyasha. He's only a half demon. I can't imagine he'd be that much of a threat, but apparently he's become quite strong. I can't think of another reason why Lord Sesshomaru would choose to leave his ward there."

Kitashi stuck his nose in the air. "I can handle a half demon."

Hisao smiled. His plan was finally starting to fall into place. "Of course, of course. But even so, killing the girl may not be so easy. My Lord's sense of smell is greater even than any of the rest of us dog demons. If you lay a hand on the child to slay her, and he catches your scent on the body, you can be sure he will swiftly hunt you down. That's why I've come up with a better way."

The demon guard turned and retrieved a small metal box he had hidden here in the shrubs earlier that evening. It was cold to the touch. He could feel its demonic energy pulsing through the lid of the box, begging to be let out. "It's taken me months, but I've devised a spell specifically for this purpose. Once you open this case, the creature I've compiled within will be irrevocably drawn to the first human it sees. It will infuse itself into the human's blood, and every demon for miles around will be drawn to it with an intense desire to kill. You or I will never touch the girl; we'll let other demons take her life. It will never be traced back to either of us."

Kitashi frowned. "Why not just do it yourself then?"

"I dare not leave my post long enough to do so. If I did it, and the girl died shortly after, it might arouse suspicion." He held out the box to his companion.

Kitashi did not take it right away, staring directly at Hisao. "What of Inuyasha? Or Sesshomaru, if he's nearby? Will this device make them desire to kill her too?"

The guard shook his head. "Unfortunately not. Otherwise the job would have been much easier. As a lower-ranking daiyoukai of my clan, my magic will not work on other dog demons. Even the half breed should be spared. However, if Inuyasha has decided to protect the child, as I predict he has, it may make it difficult for outside demons to get to her. But there's still hope. If no one else can reach her, there are apparently at least two other demons living in the village with her that she will not expect to attack. This plan should take care of itself. All you need to do is put it in motion, and your revenge on Sesshomaru will be set."

Kitashi remained silent, looking the other demon straight in the eye for a long minute. At last he nodded slowly and took the metal box from him.

"One more thing," Hisao warned. "Make sure you do not use the spell until the girl is alone. Not only so that you can be sure to target the right human, but also because there are two priestesses living in the village as well. One is old, by human standards, and should not pose much of a threat. But I've heard that the younger one is somewhat powerful. Word has it that she is responsible for the annihilation of the Sacred Jewel. If you unleash my creation while she is close by, she might sense the demonic energy before it has a chance to take effect." Then he smiled wickedly, so that his pointed teeth gleamed white against the moon. "But once the spell is in place, she will not be able to remove it. It penetrates the blood. She would have to drain it _all_ from the girl's body in order to purify it completely."

"How will I know which human child it is?" the leopard demon asked, clearly trying hard not to heed the call of the demonic spell inside the box and set it free. "All humans look the same to me."

"I've thought of that as well," Hisao answered smugly. He reached inside the leather of his breastplate to pull out the swatch of cloth he had tucked there between his armor and his shirt. Without unfolding it, he tossed it to the other demon. "This is a piece of cloth from the same bolt of fabric which Lord Sesshomaru had our servants make a kimono for the girl recently. Our scent should still be on it, and should match that of the kimono she now wears. I assume cats can smell well enough to detect it, yes?"

Kitashi scowled, wrinkling his nose. "Smells like a dog."

"Then we're on the same page."

The two demons considered each other in silence for a moment longer. "Yes, I believe we are."

Hisao explained briefly the location of the village, and then without another word, they bowed slightly to one another, keeping eye contact, and then turned and went their separate ways.

Hisao smiled to himself as he quickly and quietly made his way back to the palace. If Sesshomaru did manage to figure out that a spell had been placed on his little girl, and how it got there, then Kitashi would be blamed. There were many possible scapegoats before he could ever trace it back to the captain of his mother's palace guard. This plan was a long time in the making, and finally, finally it was coming to fruition. In later years, Sesshomaru may even look back and be grateful that his temporary distraction had been removed so that he could continue his goal of supreme conquest uncorrupted by the human, conquering the lands in the name of the dog demon clan...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Don't forget to wash behind their ears, Rin-chan," Sango reminded as she struggled to fold a clean diaper onto her squirming baby.

"I won't, don't worry!" Rin replied. Her kimono was already soaked, thanks to the twins' splashing, but she would have to wait and dry it until after their bath was finished. Hiromi and Ayaka, the two young daughters of the monk and the demon slayer, played enthusiastically in the warm water of the little wooden tub as Rin tried to rub each one down with a rag.

"I'm a fish!" Hiromi cried, sticking her head under the water.

"Well I'm a frog!" Ayaka followed, bobbing up and down as if jumping with frog legs.

Rin wondered if she had been this energetic when she was three years old. Of course Kaede always said she was still a very lively girl, and constantly had to ask her to slow down so that she could keep up when they went out to gather herbs together. But surely now, at the age of ten, she had calmed down somewhat from her earlier years.

"Girls, not so much splashing!" Sango chided from across the room. "If you don't let Rin finish cleaning you off, then I'll send her home and you won't get to play with her this afternoon!"

"Nooo!" the twins wailed together. They reached for Rin with dripping hands, crying, "Nee-chan, Nee-chan!"

Rin smiled. She loved being referred to as "big sister." Before her birth family had been murdered by bandits, she had been the youngest of four children, and had had only brothers. Being like a big sister for the two little girls was a special treat. "It's okay," she said, taking their hands in her own. "Just be good and let me finish, and then we can play a game."

This did the trick and the bath was finished quickly.

"I don't know what I'd do without you Rin," Sango said as she helped dry the girls and dress them, the baby now strapped to her back. "When Miroku goes on his exorcism trips, it can get a bit crazy around here. You're a big help."

"It's fun to help!" Rin answered wholeheartedly. She took the sash she was about to tie around Hiromi's waist and instead looped it around her eyes. "Uh-oh, where's Hiromi? Hiromi's gone!"

The little girl laughed as her sister giggled beside her. "I'm right here!"

Rin removed the sash. "Oh, there she is! I thought you had gone away!" She moved the cloth back down to Hiromi's waist and tied it in a neat bow behind her so that it kept her robe in place.

Sango smiled at Rin with that soft, sad smile and faraway eyes that Rin sometimes caught on her face. She wondered what made the demon slayer look like that from time to time; like she was remembering something painful, filled with guilt. But Rin had no idea what she had to feel guilty about. She had only ever been kind and compassionate, as far as Rin could tell. She would never forget how she had given Rin her face mask to protect her from the miasma when they were trying to escape from inside the scariest demon Rin had ever known, Naraku.

And it had been her pleasure to help out with the new twin babies that were now little girls. They had actually helped Rin readjust to life among humans in the three and a half years that she had been living here.

"Rin-chan, can you come here for a moment?" a voice suddenly called from outside the hut, pulling her away from her thoughts.

Rin recognized the croaking female voice as Kaede's. "Coming!" she replied and stood to leave.

"But Nee-chan you promised to play with us!" Ayaka pouted.

"I'll keep my promise, but it will have to be later," Rin replied, patting the little one on the head. "Bye bye Miss Sango!"

"See you later Sweetheart," Sango called as Rin stepped through the hanging bamboo door and into the sunlight.

Kaede stood waiting for her with a smile on her wrinkled face. "It's time for an herbalism lesson, and this time we'll go with Kagome...but it looks like you need to change clothes first. You're sopping wet. Giving the twins a bath again?"

Rin nodded.

"Well, go on home and change then. I'll get Kagome and meet you there."

"Yes ma'am!" Rin skipped off through the dusty roads of the village toward the hut she lived in with Kaede. She waved at people as she passed them, and everyone greeted her with a friendly "Good afternoon." This village was so different from the one she had lived in before, when she had been trying to provide for herself by scavenging and stealing food. No one here called her mean names or spit at her or beat her. She had made many friends. It had been a difficult transition at first, but life here was definitely nice for Rin.

When she reached the hut, she discovered a line strung from the roof to a nearby tree on which was hung many wet clothes. Kaede must have already done the laundry today. This meant that most of Rin's clothes were not able to be worn at the moment. Of course, she didn't care one bit whether or not she wore dirty clothes. Before living here, she had become accustomed to wearing the same filthy kimono for months on end. But Kaede had tried to break her of this habit, insisting that she be clean as much as possible.

So when Rin went inside and looked in the bamboo chest that housed her clothes, she was not surprised to find that little was left inside. All that remained were a few of the kimonos given to her by Lord Sesshomaru. These were usually made of such fine material that she did not wear them for her daily chores, but today there did not seem to be any other option.

Rin paused as she looked down at the beautiful robes. Silently, she picked up her newest one and rubbed the soft fabric between her finger and thumb. It was so lovely...a deep purple color with gold flowers embroidered all throughout the design. The shape of the kimono itself was simple and practical, but the material could not have been easy to come by. Not that Lord Sesshomaru ever spoke of where he acquired his gifts to her.

Rin brought the folded kimono to her face and inhaled deeply. It was faint, but she could just barely catch it...it smelled like him. That smell of outside, of flying high in the sky, and that indefinable something that made him the demon lord he was. It was a saddening reminder that her life here was nice, but not perfect. Any life where she did not get to see Lord Sesshomaru daily could never be perfect. It had been about five weeks since his last visit. And he usually did not stay for long. Rin was grateful to have Kaede and Sango, and Kagome and even Lord Inuyasha close by to watch over her, but it just wasn't the same. She had never loved anyone as much as she loved Lord Sesshomaru — not even her real father, who had usually been more preoccupied with farming and his three sons to pay his daughter much mind. Rin considered Lord Sesshomaru her father now, though she would never say that to him directly. Traveling with him may have put her in a few dangerous situations, but she never let that hinder her desire to be near him. She had complete faith that if she were in danger, her lord would come and rescue her. And he always had.

Trying to suppress her loneliness, Rin changed into the purple kimono and laid her wet one out near the fire pit. By the time she stepped back outside, Kagome and Kaede stood waiting for her, wicker baskets in hand.

Kagome smiled down at her and Rin felt her mood lighten already. "You look pretty Rin-chan," she said. "Did Sesshomaru give you that one?"

"Yes," she answered but did not elaborate on the matter.

"Come on then child," Kaede said, waving her along. "The afternoon is already getting late. Let's get to it before this old woman has to go to bed!"

Rin followed along as the three made their way to the edge of the forest, listening to Kagome chat about how Inuyasha and Miroku were due back any day. "They've had to go farther and farther away to find work," she lamented. "But in a way I guess that's a good thing. The area has become so safe since the death of Naraku that it's harder to find demons that are causing trouble."

"Ay," Kaede agreed. "This village has not been so peaceful since the days before the sacred jewel was brought to my sister for safe keeping."

For some reason, Kagome was quieter after this, but they soon arrived at their destination at any rate. Kaede bent down among the shrubs and showed each of them what they were looking for: a curling green vine with rigid leaves that she said was good for boiling into a tea that helped with headaches and muscle pain. Now was the best season for them to grow, so they needed to pick as many as they could find and dry them for use later in the year.

Rin picked carefully through the underbrush until she had a good handful, and then she emptied what she had into Kagome's basket. As she examined the amount Rin had collected, Kagome laughed. "You're better at this than me, Rin! I don't know if I'll ever get the hang of it."

"You're skills have already improved considerably in the six months that you've lived here," Kaede comforted. "But Rin has spent a good part of her life searching through plants for enough food to sustain herself, so it's no wonder she has such sharp eyes. It's one of the reasons I think she will make a talented herbalist, if she should choose to become one."

Rin's chest puffed up with the compliment, and she went on about picking the vines with a sense of accomplishment. She noticed a nice patch of them under a tree, but then saw that the tree a few feet behind it had even more. She picked as much of these as she could find, but now felt like she had to outdo herself; she wanted to come back to Kagome's basket with an even larger amount than before. So she followed her feet to the next patch and then the next, not noticing that Kaede and Kagome's voices were growing increasingly faint behind her.

By the time she was finally satisfied and stood up to head back to the priestesses, she discovered that she could no longer see them. She had ended up in the forest clearing by the Bone Eater's Well. Rin knew she was not very far away from the village, but she was not sure which way her companions had gone to pursue their herb picking. She stood still and listened for a moment, but could not hear any voices carried in the early autumn wind.

_Oh well,_ she thought. _I'll just meet them back in the village._ It was not as though Rin was not used to being on her own and taking care of herself. She was about to head back when something colorful distracted her. It was a group of wild flowers, growing near the base of the wooden well. She could not help but smile. This kind of flower was her favorite! Bright yellow and sweet-smelling. Kaede called them dandelions. She said they were actually a weed, but that never stopped Rin from enjoying them.

She supposed Kaede and Kagome would not be back at the village yet even if she returned now, and so Rin decided to take a little detour before heading home. Carefully setting her herbs in a pile beside her, she bent down and set to picking the flowers. She was reminded again of her time with Lord Sesshomaru. How often she would pick flowers while waiting for him to return! She would braid them into her hair and make crowns for herself while Jaken sat and grumbled about being left behind.

Happy memories set Rin to humming, and before she knew it she was singing a song of her own that she had not sung since being separated from her lord.

_"In the mountain,_

_ In the forest,_

_ In the wind,_

_In my dreams._

_ "Lord Sesshomaru where are you?_

_ Master Jaken's serving under you._

"_I will wait by myself_

_Until Lord Sesshomaru comes back."_

When she had a crude bouquet of dandelions in hand, Rin bundled them together with her herbs and turned to leave the clearing. She would bring the flowers as a gift for Kaede. Oh, if only she could show them to Lord Sesshomaru as a prize like she used to! She even missed Jaken's complaining...

Then all at once Rin found herself tripping and falling face forward as a sharp pain exploded in her left heel.

Kitashi had waited outside the human village for hours. He caught sight of several children from afar, but their scents were all too mixed for him to be able to pick out Sesshomaru's little girl. Then with a stroke of luck, he saw a child leave the settlement in the company of two women. They were the priestesses, by the look of them. The fact that she was with them was not so lucky. But he stayed as close by as he dared, waiting for an opportunity.

All three females smelled strongly like humans, though on the younger of the priestesses Kitashi thought he could smell traces of the half-demon. And on the child...he could smell Sesshomaru. Faintly. If he had not had the swatch of cloth given to him by Hisao, he may have missed it.

Kitashi stayed out of sight, listening to the conversation of the humans as they picked plants from the underbrush. He was hoping the priestesses would be too distracted to notice his demonic aura; he did all he could think of to mask it. Feline demons in general were fairly good as being stealthy. They were certainly better at it than the dogs.

The demon watched with elevated attention as the girl slowly began to wander away from the adults. Bent over and concentrating, she did not seem to notice she was separating herself. Kitashi followed her progress silently, creeping between the shadows of the trees.

Only when she came to a clearing near a wooden well did she stand up and look around. Kitashi was able to get a good look at her for the first time. Maybe half the size of a grown man, the child wore her black hair down with one ponytail out to the side. But it was her clothes he was most interested in. The fabric of the purple kimono she wore matched the pattern on the piece Kitashi was given. It was definitely the kimono made in the dog demon palace. But could he be sure this was the right human? What if Sesshomaru's girl had given her clothes to someone else? Kitashi was not willing to risk his one-time shot at revenge on the wrong child. He continued to watch her, hoping for a sign.

Seeing where she was, the girl walked over to the well and began to pick the yellow flowers growing there one at a time. Then she started to sing, and as Kitashi listened a satisfied smile stretched across his face. She was singing about "Lord" Sesshomaru. This was the one.

From within his wide sleeve, the leopard demon pulled out the metal box. Its pulsing was growing stronger, perhaps realizing that it was about to be released. Kitashi crouched, holding the container out in front of him. He was very curious to find out what sort of form Hisao's spell had taken, but he dared not peek in to find out.

Taking one last look at the girl to make sure she was still preoccupied and alone, Kitashi lifted the lid off of the box. Immediately, a shadowy form burst out. It was snake-like, with fins on its back and eyes that glowed like red jewels. Probably about the length of the demon's arm, its shady essence shifted as it shot up in the air.

Hisao's creation wasted no time. Sensing a human nearby, it dove for the earth and set to slithering swiftly across the grass. Just as the girl gathered up her floral treasures and prepared to leave, Kitashi watched in amazement as the creature not only collided with the heel of her foot, but pushed herself straight into her body.

With a cry she stumbled, dropping her plants and landing on her face in the grass. The spell was absorbed by her skin instantly. Kitashi could see the shadows creeping up her leg and then penetrating the rest of her body before being dissolved further inward, into her blood. As it did, a strong feeling gripped the demon. He suddenly saw this human child as a very desirable thing to kill. He could almost feel his claws ripping through her, taste her blood on his teeth... No obstacle mattered. He wanted to kill her. He _needed_ to kill her. Every muscle in his body twitched, demanding that he run forward and slash her throat.

Kitashi quickly tried to check himself. It was Hisao's spell. He understood how it would work now. This desire to kill was stronger than any he had experienced before. But he remembered the demon guard's warning about laying a hand on the girl, so he forced his legs to carry him away.

The other demons in the area should get the job done. They would not be able to resist. His part was complete. For now, Kitashi would get as far away from here as he could, hoping to outrun Hisao's compelling concoction. In a few days time he would come back and check to be sure the child was dead. Though in reality, he did not really expect her to last one night.

Rin pushed herself up slowly, groaning as her elbows ached and her heel throbbed. She sat crossed-legged and gingerly turned her left foot as much as she could to examine her heel. It felt as though something had bit her; probably a snake or a large spider. But as Rin looked at her foot, she could find no blood, no bite mark, and no skin irritation. There was just nothing but the pain. And even that was beginning to recede. Almost as quickly as it had come, the aching faded until she could barely feel it anymore.

Mystified, Rin gathered up the bouquet of plants she had dropped. _I'll ask Kaede-obaba about it_, she decided. _Maybe she'll have some idea of what happened._ She stood and headed back toward the village, limping at first, but then walking normally.

As she broke through the bulk of the trees, she found that the priestesses were not where she left them. She caught sight of them farther along the road, just at the outskirts of the village. And they were not alone. Two figures now accompanied them, one of them dressed in bright red from head to toe.

"Lord Inuyasha! Master Miroku!" she called happily. They had been gone for nearly a week this time, and Rin was as happy to see them as everyone else.

The four adults turned to watch her as she ran all the way to them. Inuyasha had two large bales of rice propped on one shoulder. With one arm he held these effortlessly in place, and with the other he clasped Kagome's hand in his own.

"There you are Rin-chan!" Kagome said as she approached. "We were getting worried."

"I'm sorry," Rin said as she slowed down and caught her breath. Then she looked up at Inuyasha with a genuine smile. "Welcome home!"

The half-demon blinked, apparently caught off guard by her enthusiasm. "Hey Rin. ...It's good to be back."

There were several ways in which he reminded Rin of Lord Sesshomaru; his hair and eye color, his stand-offish attitude, his stubborn determination, and — most importantly — his good heart. Suddenly the similarities were all she could see, and before she could think twice about it, she threw her arms around his waist.

Inuyasha stiffened awkwardly, which made Kagome and Miroku chuckle.

"C'mon Rin," Miroku said, taking hold of one of her hands. "Why don't you come with me? My girls will be just as happy to see you as they will be to see me."

Rin gave her herbs and flowers to Kaede and then went with the monk. As expected, Ayaka and Hiromi clobbered their father with hugs, but then quickly turned their attention Rin. She played with the twins for the rest of the evening. By the time the sun had set, and she went home to snuggle under soft blankets next to Kaede, she had quite forgotten about the unusual injury in her heel.

***Author's Note***

For this chapter, I took what we know of the characters and how they have developed and extended it to how I believe they would continue to develop with time. Rin has always been versatile, coping well with change, and so I can see her eventually settling in and making friends at the village. I think because of her friendship with Kohaku Rin might befriend Sango and her family as well. Sango probably will always feel guilty for nearly sacrificing Rin for a shot a killing Naraku (very end of the series), so I'm sure that would influence her incentive to be extra nice to her from now on. Of course I'm sure a part of Rin will always long to be with Sesshomaru, but I touch on that in this chapter as well.  
>I favor a fatherdaughter relationship between Rin and Sesshomaru (I do NOT like the idea of Sesshomaru being a pedophile) so if you disagree, no one's forcing you to read on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Rin was jolted out of sleep in the early hours of the morning by a thundering crash that shook the whole house. In a groggy panic she scrambled out of her blankets as Kaede struggled to sit up quickly.

"What in the world?" the old priestess croaked.

A deep, throaty growl rumbled from somewhere outside the house. Splintered bits of wood and dust rained down from the ceiling, and then suddenly a large, clawed hand burst through the wooden roof.

"Kaede-obaba hurry!" Rin cried, running over to grab her hand and pull her to her feet. "Let's get out of here!"

Kaede stumbled to her feet, snatching up her bow and arrows as they rushed out of the house. As soon as they were outside, the moonlight revealed their attacker: an average sized ogre demon, which was still large enough to tower over their hut. One of its arms stuck straight through the now torn-up roof. Its face turned toward them stupidly as they paused outside the door.

"Blasted pest!" Kaede hissed as if she had just discovered a rat in the closet. "Now we'll have to fix the roof. Rin-chan, go and wake Inuyasha. This shouldn't take long."

Rin obeyed, turning to run down the village road toward Inuyasha and Kagome's house. She had almost finished the short sprint when something so heavy landed behind her that it shook the ground and took her straight off her feet.

She landed on her stomach with a little cry of surprise. Trying to recover quickly, Rin shuffled onto her hands and knees and looked over her shoulder. There she found a second ogre demon, this one a bit larger and darker-skinned than the first. It had slapped its massive hand flat on the ground, barely missing her. It considered her with the same big, blank eyes as the other one had. Rin got a brief but thorough a look at it. Two tusk-like teeth jutted up from its bottom lip. A single white shock of hair was all that adorned it head, making its pointed ears look even larger. This one had scars across its face and shoulders.

Rin clambered to her feet, kicking dirt and rocks every which way. "Lord Inuyasha!" she cried, hoping he would hear her from here. "Lady Kagome!"

The ogre's hand lifted up. Rin took off running down the lane. She heard giant footsteps pursuing her and knew she would never be able to outrun it. After just a few long strides, it closed the small gap she had made. Rin could see its long shadow fall over her entire body.

Just then a swift breeze zipped past her. Rin heard a gurgling growl behind her as the shadow disappeared. She skidded to a stop and looked back, her heart pounding. Inuyasha was just landing back on the ground, the Tetsusaiga in hand. The decapitated ogre crashed down before him.

He turned around to face her, shaking the blood from his blade. "You alright Rin?"

"Y-yes..." she replied, trying to keep from trembling. "Thank you!"

Kagome came running up to join Rin, swinging a quiver of arrows over her shoulder. "Inuyasha!" she called and pointed behind him. She had spotted the demon still making a mess of Kaede's house.

"I'm on it!" he replied. With one leap he cleared the felled ogre and was on his way to the next one.

By now several people had come outside to see what the commotion was about. "It's demons! We're under attack!" someone shouted. And with that the alarm was raised.

Rin inched a bit closer to Kagome. The priestess was frowning as she stared hard into the night. "Something's not right," she said quietly.

"Kagome!" Rin watched as Miroku hurried over to them. "Do you sense it too?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kagome replied. "It feels like a lot of them are out there, and closing in. But I don't understand it. I haven't seen such a big group of demons since I've been back. There are no more Sacred Jewel shards. What could they possibly be after?"

Rin gave a quiet gasp as she spotted several pairs of red eyes glowing out in the darkness surrounding the village. Dark shapes sloshed deliberately across the rice paddies. Kagome pulled back the string of her long bow, the tip of her sacred arrow already glowing. Miroku suddenly had sutras in his hand, ready to throw.

"Rin," the monk said without looking down at her. "I want you to go to my house and stay with the kids. Don't come out until someone comes to get you. Understand?"

"Yes!" Rin answered quickly. She did not stay to watch the battle begin. She bolted between houses, rushing past other villagers who were grabbing bows and pitchforks and ushering their wives and children inside.

It only took a minute to arrive at Sango and Miroku's house. There she found the demon slayer standing protectively outside her doorway. She wore a comfortable kimono, but anyone could tell just by glancing at her that this was no ordinary housewife. Sango held her enormous boomerang, the Hiraikotsu, at the ready behind her.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the little girl approach. "Rin! Good! Come quickly!" She directed Rin through the bamboo doorway. Ayaka and Hiromi were huddled in a corner with tears pooling in their big eyes. They sat in front of the baby who, thankfully, was still asleep.

"Nee-chan!" they cried when they saw her.

Rin went to them at once, wrapping them up in a hug. "It'll be alright," she told them soothingly. "Lord Inuyasha and Lady Kagome and your daddy are all out there protecting us."

Sango knelt down so that she was on their eye level. "Rin, I have a very special job for you. I need you to stay here and make sure everyone stays in the house. Watch the girls, and hold the baby if he starts crying."

Hiromi was suddenly very afraid and reached for her mother. "Mommy, don't go!"

Sango rubbed her cheek. "Don't worry. I'll just be right outside. But while Daddy is protecting the village, Mommy will protect our home." She momentarily dropped her eyes. "...If Kirara were here, I would have her stay with you, but I let her go out hunting this morning and she hasn't made it back yet..." Her eyes snapped back up so that they locked with Rin's. "Can you do that for me Rin? I know I can trust you."

Rin felt a sense of responsibility straighten her spine and she gave a decisive nod. "Yes."

Sango smiled. "I won't be far." With that she rushed back outside, Hiraikotsu in tow. Rin could see her shadow stop just a short ways in front of the door.

The twins continued to cry, but Rin did her best to quiet them, afraid they would set the baby to bawling too. She attempted to distract them with games, but that only worked for a few minutes. The sound of battle outside was growing increasingly worse. Growls and roars and inhuman screams filled the night. More than once they could hear Sango's weapon go sailing through the air and make contact with a body. Rin even heard a familiar voice faintly cry twice, "Wind Scar!" and once she heard, "_Meidou Zangetsuha!_"

Time seemed to stand still. She could not believe the fighting lasted as long as it did. Granted, every minute seemed more like an hour, but still there must have been a great deal more demons than they thought for her powerful friends to not have defeated them yet.

_If only Lord Sesshomaru were here..._ Rin lamented as she squeezed the two tiny girls tightly. _I bet he could have killed them all by now... But maybe not even he could. Lady Kagome said there was something strange going on..._

"Kirara!" Sango's voice suddenly exclaimed from outside. "Thank goodness you're back! Hurry inside! I need you to protect the kids...if something gets past me, don't let anything near them!"

The bamboo mat was pushed aside again and this time the enormous cat demon walked in on all fours, the moon silhouetting her form.

"Kirara!" the twins cried happily.

Instead of padding eagerly over to them as Rin expected her to, Kirara stopped as soon as her bulk had cleared the doorway, simply staring at them all with hardly visible red eyes.

"Kirara?" Rin said in surprise. She had never before known the demon to not take action when action was called for. A feral growl filled the room, rumbling like a shock of thunder. Suddenly the dark shape of the demon leaped forward. Stunned, Rin cried out and instinctively curled further into the corner, shielding the children with her body. She was aware of hot breath on the back of her neck. The baby finally began to cry and the twins followed suit.

Rin trembled, expecting fangs the size of her arm to sink into her flesh at any second. When they did not, she stole a glance over her shoulder with one eye. Kirara's mouth was open in a snarl and her paw raised as if to swipe—but she seemed frozen in place. Her paw shook as it was held aloft, as if she were fighting against invisible strings that tried to push her.

"KIRARA!"

Rin had not noticed Sango come bolting into the house until she threw her arms around her beloved demon companion's furry neck. "Kirara, what's wrong? Stop it!"

Rin stared back up at those huge red eyes that were fixed squarely on her face. She had never considered Kirara terrifying until now. The demon was a friend of Sango's and therefore a friend of hers, but now she just seemed primal and crazed. Her claws were just inches from Rin's shoulder. But still she did not strike.

Sango pulled on the feline's massive neck in vain to try and get her to move. Slowly, Kirara closed her mouth and forced her paw down to the floor. She sat back on her haunches, shutting her eyes and waving her huge head back and forth. As she did, a sound that was more like an anguished groan than a growl escaped her throat. Rin's eyes widened. _She can't help it,_ she realized. _It's like she's fighting something in her head._

Sango relaxed her arms, but did not leave the demon's side. "What's wrong Kirara?" she asked again, this time with more sympathy in her voice.

"Is Kirara sick?" Ayaka wondered over her baby brother's howling.

Rin slowly released the children and turned around on her knees to consider the demon. As she watched her hang her head and moan miserably, she felt a twitch of memory. She remembered her very first meeting with her Lord Sesshomaru, in which she had found a large and powerful demon injured and alone; his eyes were red, and he growled at her, but Rin was not afraid. Now she felt her fear evaporate as well. Lord Sesshomaru had meant her no harm, and neither did Kirara. She was sure of it now. She reached out with one hand to lightly touch the demon's face.

It was then that something seemed to snap in Kirara. The red eyes flew back open. With a cat-like screech, she swiped her heavy paw in an arc before her. Rin was swept off the floor. She flailed in the air for a second before colliding with the opposite wall of the house.

Her head swam as she crumpled to the ground. She heard Sango and the girls screaming, and still the baby crying, and desperately tried to clear her mind, terrified of what the demon might be doing to them. But as the stars faded from her vision, Rin was surprised to find Kirara's attention still fixed on her. The Hiraikotsu discarded, Sango threw her whole body against her friend, trying to divert her path. The children were untouched. They had taken to curling up together and holding their brother. Their entire faces now gleamed wet in the dim light.

Rin realized two things in an instant: first was that Kirara easily could have killed her with that blow if she had used her claws. Even though it did not appear so, she was still trying to fight something inside that was telling her to kill. Secondly, she only seemed interested in harming Rin. She wobbled to her feet. _I have to keep her away from the kids!_ she resolved. She could not allow them to get hurt while Kirara was trying to get to her. Turning on her heel, Rin ran out the door as quickly as she could. She did not look back over her shoulder until she was several houses away. Sure enough, Kirara pursued her, bits of flame spitting on the tips of her two tails. Rin's heart pounded as she pushed herself to run faster. If only she could get away from the villagers and reach Inuyasha before Kirara caught up with her! She was sure he would be strong enough to hold Kirara back without killing her.

Rin heard her follower's meow-like cry at her back and knew she was right at her heels. Then suddenly her feet left the ground. She was pulled straight upward by a force that squeezed her middle so hard she could not scream. It only took her a second to realize that it was an enormous hand. An ogre demon larger than any she had seen yet lifted her up to eye level. Rin squirmed in its vice-like grip, desperately trying to get air into her lungs. Each of its round eyes was bigger than her entire head. It brought her up close enough to them that she could see her reflection in the red orbs. In that moment of fear and breathlessness, her only desperate thought was, _Lord Sesshomaru!_

An intense flash of light appeared before her face. It faded just as quickly, and in its place she saw an arrow planted squarely in the center of the ogre's forehead. Its grip loosened immediately. Rin gasped a huge gulp of air as she plummeted headlong toward the ground. She just caught sight of someone running beneath her before landing in a pair of outstretched arms. Kagome tumbled as she caught her and in a confused heap they both rolled across the dirt.

When Rin came to a stop, she paused, breathing hard. The huge demon lay limp in the dirt, quite dead. For the moment there was no sign of Kirara. Hopefully she had become bewildered when Rin suddenly disappeared and went seeking her elsewhere.

Rin heard footsteps hurry up beside her. "Rin-chan! Are you okay?" Kagome knelt beside her and helped her sit up. "What happened? I thought you were going to stay with Sango's family? Oh no...did something happen to them?"

Rin quickly looked up at the priestess. "No, they're alright," she replied. "But something is wrong with Kirara!"

"With Kirara?"

There was no time to explain any more. Dark shapes were closing in all around them. Seemingly from wherever else they had been in the village, the remaining ogre demons now hurried to Rin and Kagome. The young priestess growled in frustration. "There's just no end to them! So many others dead, and still there's more!"

Rin noticed that the store of arrows in Kagome's quiver was running low. She only had three left. Two of these were quickly used to obliterate two of their closest attackers, but she paused when the last arrow was in place in her bow. Her brown eyes quickly scanned over the circle of demons as if trying to decide if it would be more profitable to kill one over the other.

Rin shuffled to her feet went to hide behind Kagome's legs. However this ended, she expected it to be messy. Then a sound that surprised them both spurted from the mouth of one of the demons. It had stopped its advance to consider them and sounded as though it was trying to talk. Until now, the ogres had shown extremely little sign of intelligence, much less the gift of speech.

"Give..." the guttural word came.

Kagome did not lower her weapon. "What?"

"Give...us...the girl..."

Rin felt Kagome's muscles tense in surprise. "Eh?"

But the demon who had been speaking suddenly fell to pieces. "KAGOME!" Inuyasha cried as she jumped into view. He made quick work of the ogres nearest to them, slashing them one at a time with his huge sword. With the villager's houses so close by, Rin knew that most of his special techniques would be too dangerous to perform, so instead he manually cut them each down.

It was over in a matter of minutes. Finally, every demon in sight was dead. The carnage of the many large bodies and pools of dark blood assaulted Rin's senses. She buried her face in the back of Kagome's robes to keep from getting sick.

Inuyasha hurried over to them. "You okay Kagome? The ones I was fighting suddenly just left and came here."

His wife lowered her bow. "Yes I'm fine, but...one of those demons said something strange..."

A feline roar filled the night. Rin identified the familiar sound in a second and scrambled away from Kagome.

She was not fast enough. Kirara dove for her, claws leading. Rin felt an intense pain explode across her back. With a scream, she landed stomach first on the gravel. Warm liquid began to seep down her sides.

Rin was aware of the priestess and half-demon shouting with shocked voices. Inuyasha must have run his shoulder into the cat, throwing her off course, because she staggered into Rin's field of vision. Still, she did not retaliate or even seem to care that anyone else was there. She set her eyes back on the little girl sprawled out before her. Fangs at the ready, she made to jump for her again.

It was then that a loud thump sounded as a line of gold whistled through the air. It belonged to a staff, the end of which had just soundly knocked Kirara's skull. Dazed, the demon staggered. In a bright tongue of fire, she transformed back into her smaller form, that of a tiny kitten with two tails. She lay there on the ground, mewing and shaking her head.

Miroku set his staff back on the ground, regarding her with concern etched on his face. But a second later his focus shifted to Rin, and he hastened to her side. Rin's vision was already blurring by the time he arrived. She heard Kagome speaking softly to her from somewhere close by, and Inuyasha cursing as he examined her wound.

This was the last she knew before unconsciousness took her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Inuyasha spent the remainder of the night and the first part of the morning dragging the corpses of the ogre demons into a huge pile to be burned. The men of the village helped as much as they could, but by the time they had tied ropes to one body and hauled it into place, the half-demon had already finished with three. Once again his accelerated strength dictated that he do the dirty work. When the task was done and they had a sizable pile of cut up demon flesh, they set fire to the heap, which sent a putrid billow of black smoke high into the air. Inuyasha's exhaustion coupled with his sensitive nose put him in a fine mood to complain. He went looking for Kagome so that he could make his displeasure known, but when he found her with Sango in Kaede's hut, he discovered a sight that halted his momentum.

The three women sat gathered around the small form of Rin, who lay on her stomach with her eyes closed and brow furrowed. The three deep gashes she had acquired on her back the night before shone red in the sunlight filtering in from the broken roof overhead. Kaede's hands were bloody. She had just finished sewing up Rin's skin with a needle and thread. As she washed her hands in a bucket of warm water, Kagome and Sango carefully wrapped bandages around Rin's middle to cover up the wound.

"Geez. Sesshomaru's going to kill me," Inuyasha groaned. But there was no malice in his voice—only regret.

"He may as well kill me," Sango replied, struggling to keep her voice steady. She gently placed a blanket over Rin once the bandaging was complete. "It was Kirara who attacked Rin, and it was me that sent her into the house with the children. This is my fault."

"You know that's not true Sango," Kagome said comfortingly. "Kirara would never hurt Rin voluntarily. Something made her do this. And whatever it was, I think it was affecting the demons that attacked us too."

This was news to Inuyasha. He went over to Kagome and sat cross-legged on the floor beside her. "What do you mean?"

"Last night, just before you killed the last batch of demons, one of them said something to me... It said, 'Give us the girl.' Rin-chan was behind me, and I'm sure it was talking about her."

Sango listened with wide eyes. "But what could a huge group of demons like that possibly want from Rin?"

"I don't know," Kagome answered with a defeated shrug. "I've been trying to figure that out all night. She's just a human child. It's not like it was with Kohaku, who had a jewel shard in his body. And I can't sense anything else around her that would be desirable to a demon. The only thing I _did_ sense was an odd sort of feeling coming from the ogres. Miroku said he felt it too. The more I've thought about it, the more I've decided it was a unified, powerful sensation of desire that I felt from them."

"Desire?" Inuyasha repeated.

Kagome nodded. "Yes. Like they were all there for the same purpose; and whatever that was, it was very strong. It made their demonic energies flare to the point that I could feel it."

"Then Kirara must have been ensnared by that same energy..." Sango said thoughtfully. "But I wonder where it came from and what it has to do with Rin?"

"I have a feeling that time will reveal to us the answers," Kaede suddenly piped in. "I hate to say it, but something tells me this is not the end of little Rin's troubles. But the best we can do for now is try and heal her. Inuyasha, could you go and get me some clean water? She needs wet rags applied to her back, and this water is all bloody."

Inuyasha felt his sour mood returning. "Aw man, what a pain," he grumbled. "I'm the only one who does the hard work around here."

Kagome nudged him with her elbow a little bit harder than was necessary. "C'mon Inuyasha, this isn't about you right now; it's about Rin! Don't you care about her health?"

"Of course I do!" he retaliated, rubbing his ribs. Actually, he had not thought much about it until he had walked in and seen how serious her wounds were, but he was indeed very worried about the little girl. In some ways, she reminded him of Kagome. Always so optimistic, always accepting...and never giving a second thought about his being a demon. Rin was one of the few humans who never smelled the slightest bit of fear when she first began to live alongside him. She always welcomed him whole-heartedly. Made him feel wanted. It was no wonder that Sesshomaru had wanted to keep her near him. The only thing that never ceased to puzzle Inuyasha was what Rin could possibly see in traveling with Sesshomaru.

Afraid that his honor had been questioned, the half-demon straightened and declared, "I want Rin to get better just as much as you do; it just annoys me that I'm always doing the grunt work!"

"Well you _are_ the strongest person around Inuyasha," Sango pointed out, her voice edged with impatience. "And at a time like this we all have to chip in where our talents are most needed."

"Yeah, yeah I get it. I'll get some new water," he griped. Not at all wanting to hear anyone else lecture him, Inuyasha stood and reached for the bucket. "Kaede, give me that one. I might as well empty it too."

It took him no time at all to get down to the stream, empty out the soiled water, rinse the wooden bucket, and fill it with clear, cold water. As he turned to head back to the village, he saw a familiar shadow pass overhead. A pink, spherical blob with stick-thin limbs and enormous eyes drifted swiftly in the morning breeze.

"Hey, Shippo!" Inuyasha called to the shape-shifted fox demon. "Back from training already?"

Shippo made no response and did not slow, appearing to pump his arms awkwardly to propel him more quickly toward the village. "Shippo!" Inuyasha tried again with the same result. _Hm. I wonder what his hurry is?_ he thought. If it had not been for the sloshing bucket of water in his hands, the half-demon would have caught up with him in two swift jumps. As it was, he was stuck walking slowly so as not to spill.

Shippo outpaced him. Inuyasha watched him decrease into the distance until the pink ball disappeared in a puff of smoke, presumably as Shippo reverted back to his demon form.

Then a few short seconds later Inuyasha heard a female scream. A great spiral of wind suddenly rose high into the sky, visible only from the upheaval of dirt and autumn leaves. Inuyasha stopped in his tracks. The whirlwind was set in the exact direction of Kaede's house. Dropping the bucket on the ground, he sprinted and leaped high into the air, one hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt.

Silver hair and red sleeves flying behind him, he rapidly approached the outskirts of the village. But what he found when he arrived was surprising. A huge green spinning top twirled excitedly on the roof of the hut—but the roof was unaffected by the weight. A few of the village women stood nearby pointing at it and shouting. It must have been one of them who had screamed. Inuyasha, on the other hand, recognized the illusion immediately.

"Shippo, what the hell are you doing?" he demanded. The little demon stood just outside the house, watching his fox magic spin. When he still did not turn to acknowledge his addressor, Inuyasha stomped up behind him delivered his fist solidly onto the top of Shippo's head.

This made the fox demon trip and the illusion diminish immediately. Soon there was only a regular-sized top, small enough to fit in one's palm, tottering on the rooftop.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Kagome called. She appeared from inside the doorway. "Shippo-chan?"

Inuyasha expected him to start crying and complaining about Inuyasha's abuse as he usually did when Kagome was nearby. But instead the little demon just raised his head to look at her—or more accurately, to look past her into the house.

"Fox Fire!" he suddenly cried. Green flames erupted from his hands.

Inuyasha was in front of him in an instant, shielding Kagome. He slashed through the fire with his arm, lettering his robe of the Firerat deflect its heat. He knew full well that Shippo's training was paying off. In the last few years, his Fox Fire in particular had become much more powerful than it had been when he was younger.

Now Inuyasha's already trite patience had run dry. "Shippo! What do you think you're doing?" he shouted again.

He felt Kagome's hand touch his shoulder as she peeked around his back. With a gasp she exclaimed, "Inuyasha, look at his face!"

The half-demon had not received a good look at him until just then. Shippo's eyes were glazed over. His expression was scrunched, stuck in a frown, and his forehead beaded with sweat. His tiny hands shook slightly as he held them before him.

"What's wrong with him?" Sango's voice asked worriedly. She had just appeared in the doorway beside Kagome.

"Shippo-chan, it's us! What's wrong?" the priestess tried once more.

Inuyasha heard Sango whisper then, "Oh no... It's just like Kirara..."

Still refusing to talk to them, the fox demon suddenly got down on all fours and zipped between their legs and into the house.

"Hey! Come back here you little brat!" Inuyasha turned to pursue him, but paused briefly when he felt Tetsusaiga pulse abruptly at his side. He glanced at his sword. It wanted to be drawn. It wanted to tell him something.

But that would have to wait. Kagome grabbed the little demon as he scurried across the floor. He had been heading straight the spot where Rin lay. He now struggled in Kagome's arms, growling and grunting like a feral cat. His green eyes were trained on the sleeping little girl.

"He's completely lost it!" Kagome wailed, struggling to keep him contained. "What do we do?"

Inuyasha saw the green flames alighting the demon's fingertips again and wasted no time. He stepped forward and gave him a wrap on the head so hard that this time he went limp.

Tetsusaiga pulsed again. Inuyasha wasn't sure what it wanted at a time like this, but he had learned by now that it usually had good reason for reacting when it did. Gripping the handle firmly, he drew it out of its sheath.

Kagome and Sango's eyes went wide. "What are you doing?" Kagome asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied, staring at the huge sword. "It just..." Then suddenly the bottom half of the blade changed. No longer smooth, the metal shifted into an uneven texture that looked like scales.

"The dragon-scaled Tetsusaiga?" Sango asked in surprise.

The dragon-scaled Tstsusaiga...the sword's aspect that allowed its wielder to see and destroy demonic energy. A red swirl of moving energy appeared before his eyes. But Inuyasha could only stare dumbfounded at its source. Instead of hovering above Shippo or a more likely target, the power rested over the sleeping body of Rin.

Kagome quickly handed Shippo over to Kaede and hastened to the little girl's side. "I can feel a strong demonic aura!" she exclaimed. She knelt on the floor and held both hands out over Rin, concentrating. "And it feels like it's coming from her!"

"Yeah, it is," Inuyasha confirmed. "I can _see_ it."

"But how can a human be filled with demonic energy?" Sango asked, quickly joining Kagome beside the child.

"I don't know...let me see if I can purify it." Kagome closed her eyes as her hands began to glow a soft white. At once, an almost tangible power filled the room. Inuyasha allowed himself a small smile of pride. His wife's spiritual powers had done nothing but improve since her time back in the Feudal Era. If anyone could neutralize this threat, it was the lovely priestess sitting before him.

Sure enough, after several long moments, the swirling mass of demonic taint began to grow smaller. "It's working!" he exclaimed.

Surprisingly, Kagome opened her eyes and frowned as she lowered her hands onto her lap. "No...it's not. The energy is just receding back into her body. I couldn't feel anything changing. It's not going to be as simple as purification to cure Rin..."

The spinning energy shrank rapidly, now about the size of a person's head. Inuyasha gripped Testusaiga's hilt with both hands. "Then I'll destroy it! I'll cut through it before it disappears!" He raised his sword high over his head, scraping the roof in the process. His eyes fixed squarely on the target visible only to him. The muscles in his arms tensed in preparation of swinging the mighty weapon down in an arc. "Tetsusai—!"

"INUYASHA SIT!"

A familiar and intense force tugged downward at the beads around his neck. In an instant he was sprawled out on the floor with his face planted securely against the wooden floorboards. Tetsusaiga slipped from his grasp.

It took his body a second to absorb the shock, but then he quickly lifted his head, growling. With his sword no longer in his hands, it had reverted back to its hidden form: a dull and unremarkable-looking katana. He could not see the demonic energy any more. It had probably all dissipated by now. His chance was gone. "What did you do that for?" he demanded of Kagome.

"Because you didn't let me finish explaining!" she snapped back. "If you had destroyed the demon energy inside Rin, you might have killed her too!"

Inuyasha's dog ears stood up straight in surprise. He had no comeback for that. Sango and Kaede appeared to be listening intently.

"How do you know this Kagome?" the older priestess prompted.

"Whatever has taken a hold of Rin, it isn't natural. It's not like purifying miasma from the air, or taint from within a jewel shard...or even keeping your demon half from overtaking your mind, Inuyasha. It's like a separate living thing. I could feel it flowing in her body like liquid and moving with every pump of her heart. I think it's in her blood. Or more accurately, attached to each of her blood cells."

"Her blood _what_?" Sango repeated.

"Cells. They're these microscopic little...oh never mind. I guess there's no way people in the Feudal Era can know about cells yet. But my point is, it's latched itself onto Rin's very life force. If you hurt one, you hurt the other."

"And what _is_ it exactly?" Sango asked.

When Kagome did not answer right away, Kaede chipped in. "It could be demon magic. We've all seen demons that are clever at weaving spells. Kagome, of course you remember the lord of the moth demons, Minomaru? He placed a spell inside you that controlled your mind and tried to make you murder Inuyasha. This could be something similar. Only instead of controlling Rin's mind, it seems to negatively affect the demons that are nearby her."

"Hang on," Inuyasha said irritably as he pushed himself up off the floor. "Then why hasn't it affected me?"

"Maybe it doesn't work on half-demons," Sango offered.

Kagome rested her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "Hm. The only demons we've seen that have abilities like that have been very powerful. That doesn't bode well. But who could it have been?" "And when did it happen?" Sango added. "Rin must have had the spell on her last night, but why weren't you able to sense it until today Kagome?"

"I was distracted by the fight," she said with a shrug.

Kaede sat down and, placing Shippo in her lap, poked at the embers in the fire pit with a long stick. "That, and it could be that it's only able to be sensed at certain times. We just watched the demonic energy flare up when Shippo got close enough to harm her. My guess is that the spell grows more intense when a demon with violent intent is near enough to attack. And you may have been too shocked by Kirara's behavior to feel it last night, Kagome. And as you said yourself, it's planted too deep in her body to sense the rest of the time."

Everyone was silent for a minute. Then Sango looked at Rin and reached out to stroke her black hair. "But why Rin?" she asked quietly. "Why choose her as their target?"

"It could be any number of reasons..." Kaede said, still poking the dying fire. "Perhaps they just needed a random human and found Rin first. Perhaps, for some reason, they wanted a child in this area."

Kagome suddenly sat up straight. "Wait! Do you think this might have something to do with Sesshomaru?"

"Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha repeated incredulously.

"Yeah! Think about all the times Naraku kidnapped her in order to manipulate Sesshomaru. She even said that the Band of Seven abducted her once for that same reason!"

"That's...true..." he replied slowly, trying to call up memories of the stories Rin had told them in the past three years. It had seemed clear to him that she was often in danger when traveling with Sesshomaru, and yet she always talked about that period in her life with a huge smile on her face. Inuyasha had always suspected that, despite the more logical reasons he might claim, his half-brother had left the girl here because he felt that distancing himself from her was the best way to protect her. He had finally decided to put her safety above his desire to be close to her.

"Would Sesshomaru have an enemy that would do that?" Sango wondered worriedly.

"Keh," Inuyasha huffed. "With his attitude, he's probably made several enemies."

"No arguments there," Kagome agreed.

Kaede looked over at them with her one good eye. "No matter the cause, the question remains: what are we going to do about it? It seems like this spell is not only influencing demons in the immediate proximity, but is attracting them from elsewhere too. This is the only reason I can think of as to why that entire tribe of brainless ogre demons would so fearlessly attack a village that had nothing to give them."

No said anything for a long time. Finally Inuyasha stood up and retrieved the Testusaiga. "We'll keep looking for a way to break Rin's curse," he said as he slid the sword decidedly back into its sheath. "But until then, we'll just have to protect her."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Rin awoke in the afternoon to find that her back still stung significantly, but at least her wounds had been bandaged and treated to the point that she could sit up and drink some medicinal tea. As she munched on a riceball that Kaede gave her, Kagome came to sit beside her and explain what they had discovered.

"You're old enough to understand," she said. "And besides that, it's happening to your own body, so I believe you have the right to know."

She told Rin about what had happened while she slept, and how they came to the conclusion that she had a curse of demonic energy inside her body. Rin paused mid-chew when she heard about Shippo's attempted attack. Something clicked into place in her mind then. The rest of Kagome's story only confirmed what she already suspected. The ogres, Kirara, Shippo...they were all demons whose minds were overtaken when they got close to her. Not only that, but she seemed to attract them from far away. Both Shippo and Kirara had been off on their own trips until just now.

Rin swallowed hard and lowered the riceball onto her lap.

"Rin-chan," Kagome said after a brief pause, "has anything strange happened lately? We have no idea who cursed you or when, but it must have happened very recently. Did you meet anyone you didn't know? Did you find any kind of object you didn't recognize?"

Rin racked her brain for answers. She slowly shook her head. "No... No I don't—oh! Yesterday when I was in the woods, it felt like something bit my heel. But I didn't see any mark, and after a little while it stopped hurting."

"Really?" Kagome looked away, frowning in thought. "Hm. Something like that happened to me once, but I kind of doubt a dark priestess would be using demon magic..."

She may have said more, but Rin did not hear her. She stared down at her hands. _I'm cursed..._she thought. _Every demon that sees me wants to kill me... Does that mean...that Lord Sesshomaru would want to kill me too?_ Her vision blurred. _That can't happen! The curse can't be that strong!_ But then she thought of the endless number of ogre demons that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. To have called so many in one night...the magic must certainly be powerful. _Lord Sesshomaru..._ Rin was suddenly very afraid that she would never see him again.

A hand suddenly lifted her chin up. Kagome leaned in close to look directly in her eyes. "Rin, don't be scared. Inuyasha and I will look out for you. We think of you as family; you're practically our niece. We won't let anything happen to you." She wiped away a trail of tears with her thumb and then said more gently. "So don't worry, okay?"

Rin tried very hard to obey. A few minor demons appeared during the day, but they were quickly dispatched. So, fearing that darkness would bring on a much larger scale assault, the adults decided that Rin should be kept in a secluded woodshed on the outskirts of the village. As she followed Kagome through town, she could not help but notice how quiet all of the villagers got as she passed them. They all averted their gaze and pretended to be busy with other things. Her heart sank. Had word of the evil magic swimming around in her blood spread so quickly? Did they know that it was her fault that their houses were currently damaged and splattered with demon remains?

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kagome cleared out the lumber from the shed, stuck protective sutras to the building, and waited. Night dawned still and ominous. Not even the crickets were chirping. Inuyasha stood guard outside. Rin tried her best not to tremble as she sat inside the hut, staring straight ahead. Three adults sat in a triangle around her: Kagome, Miroku, and Kaede—those with spiritual powers. The three of them had worked together to erect a barrier around the shed, and they each concentrated in diligent silence to keep it in place. It had been decided that Sango would stay at home not only to watch her children, but to keep an eye on Shippo and Kirara, who had both been confined for their own good.

Rin was sleepy, still in a lot of pain, and felt utterly helpless. In the past, Jaken had often griped at her to stay out of Lord Sesshomaru's way, so as not to be a bother to him. She always strove to do just that, insisting that she could take care of herself just fine. Having so many people go to such lengths for her safety was new to Rin, and she hated troubling them so.

A low buzzing sound filled the air from outside. As the minutes passed, it grew steadily louder.

Rin heard Inuyasha chuckle on the other side of the door. "Heh. Just a bunch of bugs. WIND SCAR!"

A bright yellow light flared up through the cracks of the wooden wall and then died away. Rin wondered what sort of "bugs" would have required the Wind Scar to destroy. But then again, she remembered seeing many different kinds of bug-like demons when she had once ventured into a treacherous valley to find an herbal remedy for a poisoned Jaken.

The next hour was filled with similar situations. Sometimes the ground would shake as a giant demon approached, sometimes wind would push against the shed as something flew by. If anything got past Inuyasha and his smug comments, a zapping sound marked where the demon hit the barrier and was repelled.

Minutes ticked slowly by. As they did, Rin's fear gradually began to slip away. She was lucky to have such powerful friends who were willing to help her; they were keeping the situation under control. Perhaps her curse was not as bad as they first thought. She caught her head nodding. The hour was so late...maybe it would be alright if she just dozed off for a bit...

Rin's chin dropped down to her chest, and the next thing she knew she was dreaming about following Lord Sesshomaru through a grassy field. She looked up at his back and watched the sun reflect off his silver hair in speckles as it blew in the wind behind him. She smiled, her heart full of joy just to be near him. In the dream she did something she would never be so presumptuous to do in real life: she hurried up to his side and reached up to take hold of his hand. The demon lord paused and looked down at her. He did not smile, but did not frown either. After a moment, he also did something that he would not do in real life; he bent down and hoisted her up in one arm.

Rin laughed with delight. Propped in the crook of his arm, she gazed into his yellow eyes. Although Lord Sesshomaru showed little signs of the age she suspected he actually was, his eyes were deep wells of gold, betraying the experience he had gained in his many years on this earth. A breeze pushed his white bangs aside. Rin reached out with little fingers to gently touch the crescent moon shape on his forehead. She freely spoke her heart: "I miss you Lord Sesshomaru. I wish you would come back and get me. I love you more than anyone else in the world."

She longed to hear him speak, for his deep, even voice was like a breath of fresh air. But he did not. He simply stared at her with those mysterious eyes—and as she watched they suddenly turned red. His mouth stretched wide as his face formed into a muzzle, revealing pointed teeth.

Rin gasped. All at once she was not being held by a strong arm wearing a wide sleeve, but was pinned down against the ground by a giant white paw. Huge claws closed in around her. She looked up in terror between them at the face of the enormous white dog barely restraining itself from squishing her like an insect. She reached one hand up through furry toes. "Lord Sesshomaru!" she cried desperately.

He spoke then, in a coarse voice quite unlike his own, "You are...cursed..."

Rin froze. _No..._ The claws closed in around her and the pressure on her chest increased. She heard bones crack. "No!"

Rin jumped awake to find the ground breaking underneath her. She stumbled backwards and heard her companions' cries of surprise. All was very confusing for a moment until she finally recovered enough to realize that the cracking noise that had worked itself into her dream was actually the wooden boards of the front of the shed cracking into pieces. The dirt floor beneath them had been torn apart in small earthquake-like fissures that sent spider veins every which way. The instability of the ground and the force of the blow had caused several of the wood planks to collapse and break.

"What got through the shield?" Kagome cried. With their concentration interrupted, the barrier was now gone.

"Nothing," Kaede replied in frustration as she looked through the gaping hole in the front wall. "Something came in from underneath it."

Inuyasha still stood outside the hut, just as surprised as the rest of them that something actually got passed him. He rushed in among them. "Are you all alright? What hit you?" he asked at once. They all looked hastily around, but there was nothing hiding in the ground; no small burrowing creature came up from underneath.

Just then the earth shook again. From out in the night, two medium-sized rocks suddenly came hurdling toward them.

"What the—" Inuyasha spun around just in time. Using his sword more like a club, he deflected them with the flat of his wide blade. A normal sword may have broken with the impact, but the demon heirloom Tetsusaiga stood strong.

Inuyasha hurried back outside and planted his feet firmly before the shed, holding his weapon at the ready in the direction from which the rocks had come. "Who's there?" he demanded.

They watched a humanoid shape slowly materialize as it neared them. It looked like a well-built man wielding a long staff. He came forward with heavy, deliberate steps. He paused a few meters away. His face was still shrouded by darkness, but when he spoke his voice sounded like a deep and muffled echo resounding through a dried-up well. "I am Rikuto, Son of the Land. ...And I will have that girl."

Rin curled into a ball against the far wall of the hut. Miroku moved in front of her and Kagome went for her bow and arrows.

Inuyasha's grip tightened on Tetsusaiga's hilt. "Not a chance," he growled. "I'm gonna give you two seconds to clear out of here."

"Foolish dog," the other demon replied calmly. He seemed much more in control of himself than any they had encountered thus far, and to Rin that made him all the more frightening. "Don't you know you are no match for the power of the Earth?"

He swung his staff before him in a heavy downward arc. The earthquake that shook the shed this time was so violent that everything fell to pieces around Rin. She instinctively cried out and tucked her head under her hands. Someone scooped her up and stumbled out from under the crumbling roof. They got outside before her savior buckled under the force of the moving ground and had to stop and kneel down. Only when everything finally quieted was Rin able to make out that it was Miroku who currently held her on his lap. Kaede was not far behind. She quickly located Inuyasha with Kagome under one arm standing on the wide limb of a nearby tree.

"Please tell me he didn't cause an earthquake just by waving his staff," Kagome groaned.

"This is a powerful demon," Kaede warned. "I can't believe even one like him was drawn here... Either the spell is even stronger than we thought, or it is getting stronger as time passes."

Rin tried not to tremble. Miroku's hand tightened on her shoulder as he frowned over at the demon.

"Humph. He's nothing compared to Naraku," Inuyasha said with a defiant smirk as he set Kagome on her feet. "Just makes him easier to beat." The half demon leaped from the branch. Rin saw him flying over her head toward the one who had called himself Rikuto. He swung Testusaiga on his way down, sending forth another stream of bright light. Rin had to shield her eyes from the Wind Scar so as to maintain her night vision, but she heard Inuyasha land heavily in a great upheaval of dirt.

When the light faded, she quickly looked back to where the dirt was clearing. Inuyasha stood between the claw-like marks his attack had slashed in the ground, but Rikuto was nowhere to be found. The half demon looked around. "Where did he go?"

A heavy laughter suddenly came from somewhere above. Every pair of eyes shot upward. The attacker floated some ways up, standing on a dislodged piece of earth that he commanded to stay stationary in the air. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" he asked incredulously. "This 'Naraku' of yours must have been a weak demon indeed. And still it probably took all of your strength just to kill him."

Suddenly another light zipped through the night, but this one was thin, blue, and incredibly fast. Rikuto jerked awkwardly. An arrow shaft could be seen sticking out between his shoulder armor and breastplate.

"_I_ killed him!" Kagome declared, not lowering her bow. "And I will do the same to you if you don't back off my husband and my friends right now!"

"Let me handle this Kagome!" Inuyasha barked. Rin felt that this was said more out of fear than wounded pride.

Rikuto snarled at Kagome. He took hold of the arrow with a firm hand and yanked it out. Rin thought she could see a few drops of blood fall with it as he tossed it away. "Your _husband_?" he repeated. "That's just pathetic. What self-respecting demon would take a wife from a species that is meant to be prey?" Then he narrowed his eyes at Inuyasha. "Ah. I see now. You're just a half demon. This should be quick then. I will dispose of you and your wife, as well as these other humans, and then I shall take that child."

He did not leave any room for a response. He swung his staff more fiercely this time and at once the ground quaked. Rin clung to Miroku as he scrambled across the volatile forest floor. Chunks of earth fell away behind them. She heard Kagome yelp as she slipped from the tree and caught a glimpse of a red and white blur swooping in before she hit the ground. Kaede quickly fell behind. Rin watched as she tripped to her hands and knees among the rubble.

"Kaede-obaba!" she cried.

Miroku swore softly as he looked over his shoulder. "It's times like this when we need Kirara!"

A huge crack opened up before them. Miroku tried to veer around it, but the instability of the earth was too great for even his agile feet. He wrapped his arms around Rin as they began to tumble down into darkness. Rin squeezed her eyes shut and clung to the monk, but suddenly the sensation of falling was replaced by one of flying upward. She opened her eyes to find the neck of Miroku's robes clenched securely in Inuyasha's fist as he leaped high into the air. Kagome was perched on his back and Kaede dangled from his other fist by one arm.

The half demon and the four humans he carried traveled up until gravity slowly brought them in an arc headed downward. In that moment of suspension between the two directions, Rin got a good picture of the scene they had left behind. The ground looked like broken pottery. The remnants of the wood shed were scattered across the cracks, uprooted trees, and fissures that spread around the entire area. The destruction had almost reached the edge of the village.

Inuyasha bounced off of two roofs before finally coming to land on the wide lane between the rice fields and the first row of houses. He set everyone on their feet. Rin could see some of the villagers peering cautiously out of their doors, awoken by the nearby earthquake.

"You all go for cover," Inuyasha ordered as he pulled Tetsusaiga back out of its sheath and spun around. "I'll show this bastard just who he's dealing with."

"I'm staying with you!" Kagome insisted.

"No!" he replied, shooting her a stern look. "You take Rin and hide! I can take him. He won't touch either of you."

Miroku cut in quickly before Kagome could continue to argue. "Inuyasha, he's programmed to target only Rin; he may not even try to fight you at all, just avoid you!"

"Well I won't let him!" the half demon cried angrily.

"Miroku has a point," Kagome said with less volume but no less urgency. "Hiding Rin here will just put the rest of the village in danger. We need to get her away from here. Far enough away this time that an earthquake can't—"

Rin jumped as suddenly palm-sized stones rained down from the sky all around them. They were quickly followed by larger rocks that landed with a _thud_ the dirt. She could hear the ring of metal as Inuyasha swung his blade again to block some of the projectiles. The shape of Rikuto came racing out of the night, still flying smoothly atop his dislodged piece of earth. "That prize is mine!" he shouted. "You will not interfere!"

Inuyasha wasted no time. "Adamant Barrage!" he screamed as he swiped Testusaiga through the air before him. Spears of a diamond-like substance shot toward the oncoming demon. They broke through many of the rocks he had called up to hurl at them, but Rikuto reacted quickly. He halted in the air, and all at once a wall of earth rose up in front of him like a shield. Inuyasha's attack cracked it, but did not break through.

The half demon smiled, revealing canine teeth that were longer than a human's. "Heh. Right where I want him." Rin watched as his sword changed. The blade turned midnight black. She recognized this technique. With one final swing he cried, "_Meidou Zangetsuha!_"

An enormous circle of darkness and stars created a void so black that it was visible even in the dead of night. Rin's hair blew in her face. Wind seemed to be slowly pulling everything toward the emptiness. She felt leaves and sticks and dirt blow past her, sucked into the _meidou._

When at last it shrank, decreasing in size until the circle was no more, a wide arc was all that remained of Rikuto's wall. The demon himself was nowhere to be found.

Inuyasha lowered his weapon. "Ha. Some powerful demon he turned out to be. Not even he could avoid the _meidou._"

"Are you sure you got him?" Kagome asked cautiously. "I can still feel a demonic presence nearby."

Inuyasha looked back at her quickly. "From where? I'll chase him down."

Rin's scream left her throat before she quite knew what was happening. The ground just completely fell away in a small radius around where she stood. She slid and scraped down a suddenly deep tunnel, disappearing swiftly into the darkness of the earth as her companions cried out in alarm. She tumbled down a terrifyingly small space for a few seconds before finally rolling out and coming to a stop on a flat surface.

Coughing and quivering with fear, Rin pushed herself onto her hands and knees and tried to determine where she was. She may as well have gone blind. She could see nothing, no matter how hard she blinked or rubbed her eyes. Her other senses quickly took over. The floor felt damp, the air smelled stuffy, and all sound was extremely muffled.

"Your friends think they are so clever, so strong," a voice abruptly said from very close by.

Rin shrank away from it, instantly recognizing the voice as Rikuto's.

"But no matter. I will show them otherwise. And I want you to bear witness."

Dim light flooded the area. Suddenly Rin could see where she was. It looked to be a small chamber made from dirt on every side. The only entrance was the tunnel she had fallen down, and it was quickly closing up like a sponge soaking up liquid. He must have taken her deep underground.

The source of the light was the spherical ball atop Rikuto's staff. He stood only a few feet away from her. "I will let you hear what I can hear through the earth," he said with a wicked smile. He let the top of his weapon touch the earthy roof.

She then heard Inuyasha's voice emanating down the length of the metal staff and into the tiny room. "Where did she go?"

"The tunnel's gone!" Kagome cried next. "Rikuto is still alive! He took her somewhere underground!"

Even though she knew she might risk everything by doing so, Rin cried out, "Help! I'm down here!"

"By all means, scream all you want," Rikuto said calmly. "They cannot hear you. This spell of mine only works one way."

"Everyone stand back!" she heard Inuyasha say. "I'll tear a hole in the ground with the Wind Scar!"

Kagome stopped him. "Wait! We don't know where Rin is! But I can sense _him_. I can shoot an arrow that will hit only him. Just like I did for Naraku and the Sacred Jewel! Just get me high enough off the ground."

"Now now, we can't have that." the demon said. He waved his staff back and forth slightly with one hand. Rin watched in horror as the ground all about her trembled. Deep rumbling sounds resonated through the staff. Then she heard the screams. She recognized the alarmed voices of some of the men and women of the village. "It's an earthquake!" they cried. "Take cover!" Some shouted out prayers to the spirits.

The sounds were not confined to the area of town from which Rin had been taken; they poured in from all over. Cracking wood, tumbling objects, and breaking glass noises filled the little room. People roused from their sleep in terror. Rin could hear Inuyasha cry "Kagome!" and could only wonder what had happened to her.

Then she heard two little voices that snapped her out of her frightened stupor. It was Ayaka and Hiromi calling for their mother as things presumably fell all around them. One of them cried, "Where's Daddy?" and the other one said, "Where's Nee-chan?"

"Stay where you are!" Sango replied. "Just don't move!"

All of a sudden they all screamed. The baby screeched and even Kirara roared.

"STOP!" Rin cried desperately. She lunged forward and grabbed the end of Rikuto's staff. It vibrated powerfully in her hands, but she would not let go. "Please stop!"

The demon looked down at her with sharp, glinting eyes. "Ah, so it's _these_ humans that are your weakness. Do you wish to save them?"

"Yes! Please don't hurt them!"

Quick as a viper, Rikuto's hand snatched either side of her face so that her chin was caught between his fingers. He forced her to look straight up at him. His brown hair was unruly, his eyebrows bushy, and his ears pointed. She could now see clearly how crazed her curse had actually made him; his control seemed to be slipping at last.

"If you want to save your friends, then you will do exactly what I say," he hissed in raspy tones. His breath smelled like a rotting log as it collided with her face. "I will not kill you now. Oh, I would like to. The smell of your blood is simply intoxicating." One of his sharp, dirt-filled fingernails dug into the skin of her cheek, making it bleed just enough to send a drop trickling down. "But it's because of this that you are much too valuable. Such a delicious prize. Imagine how much another demon would pay to get you. What riches would he surrender to devour you in whatever way he thought best? If you want these humans to live, you will come with me quietly. You will not struggle or try to run away. I do not want my merchandise spoiled. I do not want to be so provoked that I kill you myself."

Rin could still hear the twins crying. It was a sound that tugged on her heartstrings like nothing else could. "I'll do it," she said through trembling lips. "I'll go with you. Just please leave everyone alone."

Rikuto cracked a crooked smile. He dislodged his staff from the roof and at once both the noise and the quaking ceased. Roughly removing his hand from her face, he instead hoisted the child up under his arm so that Rin hung painfully by her middle. She stifled a cry as the skin on her back strained against her stitches. The demon shoved his weapon out before them and to Rin's amazement a new tunnel appeared. It too was long and dark. She received a feeling of weightlessness and in the next moment they were flying swiftly straight ahead through the tunnel, perched atop a new chunk of earth.

As Rin descended into the darkness with the demon, she felt her tears leaving a trail behind her. At least now all of her friends would be safe and not have to endure so much danger for her sake.

_I'm going to die soon,_ she realized. But then again, a life where she would never see her Lord Sesshomaru again was hardly worth living.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Sesshomaru had noticed strange movements from the local demons lately. He didn't like it. Instead of milling about, searching for prey like they normally did, every one that he came across or could smell nearby seemed to be heading west. He could sense their change of direction one night, as if they had decided as one to move. Even if it was peculiar, the happenings of lesser demons were of no large concern to the great Lord Sesshomaru, and so he went about his own business.

The next morning brought something that sparked a little more of his attention. It was the faint stink of burning bodies, and it was very far away. Curious, Sesshomaru took to the air. He rose up above the treetops until he could make out a thin line of smoke on the horizon. It must have been a huge pillar to be seen from this distance. It spread a gray haze around its surrounding area for many miles. His first thought was that it could have resulted from a burning human village, but although the scent was faint, he could at least determine that it did not smell human. It wreaked more of charred demon bodies. If this was the case, his guess was that clans of demons had clashed in battle and that the losers were now being disposed of. Again, this was not something that interested him.

Sesshomaru glided back down to the forest floor, silver hair trailing behind him. Jaken stood waiting for him with Ah-Un's reins in hand. "Is everything alright, My Lord?" his little servant croaked in his scratchy voice. "Did you see something strange up there?"

"No," Sesshomaru answered curtly, making it clear that the conversation was over. He turned and walked on, knowing Jaken would follow.

After several minutes, with just the pounding of Ah-Un's footsteps breaking the silence, Jaken spoke up again, "Excuse me Lord Sesshomaru...but—if I may be so bold as to inquire—where are we headed?"

"On," Sesshomaru said.

"Yes of course," the little demon fumbled, "but, if it's not too much to ask, I have...a small request."

This made Sesshomaru stop. He looked over his shoulder threateningly, daring Jaken to continue.

His servant began to sweat. "Well you see My Lord, it's just that I have a...very strong feeling that we should go west."

The dog demon narrowed his eyes. "West?"

"Yes sir. Ever since yesterday evening I have felt as if something was calling me there."

"Explain," Sesshomaru demanded.

Jaken seemed surprised. He may not have expected to even get this far. "I-I don't know exactly why My Lord, but I feel a powerful urge telling me to go, that there is something that I want in that direction."

Sesshomaru knew this was no coincidence. Jaken had fallen prey to whatever phenomenon had taken hold of all the other demons in the area. Why could Sesshomaru not sense the source of this as well? Perhaps this would be worth his time to investigate after all.

When his master stayed quiet, still glaring at him, Jaken quickly fell to his knees and bowed. "Ah, forgive me Lord Sesshomaru! I should not have asked! Forget I said anything!"

Sesshomaru changed directions and walked away. "We head west," he said.

Jaken jumped up. "Oh! Thank you, My Lord! Thank you very—!"

"Silence."

"Y-yes..."

He walked at a brisk pace for the remainder of the day. He saw no great reason to hurry, or else he would have flown. But even this way Jaken had to jog to keep up, and on the ground it was easier to monitor the demonic movement around him. He could hear them moving in the trees and smell them creeping along the earth. These were small, very minor demons. The same sort that had originally possessed the human Onigumo in order to form the half demon Naraku. Malicious, simple minded creatures. And yet, whatever this "urge" was, it must have been effecting demons of greater intelligence as well, due to the fact that Jaken was also inflicted. Though granted, he was not the most clever of beings either.

They passed by at least one human village, staying hidden in the trees, and Sesshomaru found it interesting that the demons likewise avoided it and kept going, not at all concerned with the humans here. By the time night came on, Jaken was exhausted and puffing. Ah-Un seemed ready to go on—in fact he seemed eager to continue heading west. Sesshomaru himself had not slept in about four days. He usually did not need more rest than this, and now that he no longer had Rin with him, he did not have to worry about stopping every single night.

He felt a small twinge of discomfort snap inside of him at the thought of Rin. He was acutely aware of how long it had been since he last went to visit her. He intentionally tried to stay away longer each time. The less she saw of him, the less she was associated with him, the safer she would be from his enemies. He hated that he was constantly having to remind himself of that.

"We'll rest here for the night," he announced without turning around.

"Oh thank goodness!" Jaken sighed, throwing himself onto the ground. "I'm so tired..."

"Make sure Ah-Un's reins are tied," he instructed before walking off on his own.

"Yes My Lord..."

Sesshomaru walked until Jaken could no longer see him in the darkness—he always preferred to maintain a certain amount of mystery—before sitting and leaning against a tree trunk. A few hours of sleep should be sufficient. He shut his eyes lightly, aware of every sound and smell; even when Sesshomaru slept, he did so with caution. His mind was so disciplined that it could block out even the distraction of dreaming.

Nothing of consequence transpired for about the next three hours until suddenly Sesshomaru was awakened by a pair of voices.

"Do you think he found it?"

"I'm sure he did."

"I can't believe he ordered us to stay behind. Probably going to take all of the treasure for himself."

"Well we'd better do what he said. I don't see much point in getting rich if we're also dead."

Sesshomaru opened his eyes. The speakers were some ways off to his left. Both male, he could see their two forms silhouetted against the moonlight as they stood on a fallen log as if trying to see something far away. Their appearance was that of rather unkempt humans, but he could tell from their scents that they were demons. They were facing west. Apparently they had not noticed Sesshomaru's presence so close by, and so he decided to be still and listen to their conversation; perhaps he could glean a little more information about the recent demonic actions.

"What do you suppose it is?" the first one went on.

"I don't know. Lord Rikuto just said he could sense that it was a great 'prize' that could bring him untold wealth. ...But you know what? I don't think it's just some object. I think it's alive."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. He said he needed to 'capture' it. And did you notice the smoke this morning? I bet that's where it is. Other demons are already trying to get it."

The other nodded his head. "If that's where it's kept, then I've been to that area. There are some human villages in that direction, but nothing fancy. No palaces to hide sacred treasures."

"Hm. Do you think it could be a human then?"

"Maybe. I've heard that there's a powerful priestess around there and that she lives in a village with both a demon slayer and a half demon."

Sesshomaru was suddenly very alert. He clenched his fists, hoping he would not hear what he feared would follow.

"Do you think it's the priestess?"

"I don't know...Lord Rikuto made it sound smaller, like something he could just pick up. Maybe it's a human child."

Sesshomaru was upon them in a moment. Before they could register what was happening, he had one of the demons lifted off the ground by his throat and Bakusaiga pointed at the other one.

The first one choked in surprise, his eyes bulging.

"What else do you know about this?" he demanded. "What of the child? What of your master?"

The second demon seemed to recover quickly. "Who are you?" he shouted, reaching for the crude katana he wore on his belt.

Sesshomaru had no time to waste on two of them. He slashed Bakusaiga at the demon who had addressed him. The blade didn't even have to touch him. It sent out a wave of energy that, once it made contact with its target, disintegrated his body rapidly. He let out a stifled scream as his flesh deteriorated into burnt bits, and then he was no more. Sesshomaru knew this measure was not really necessary; Bakusaiga was a sword made for defeating a host of enemies all at once, but at the moment he did not care.

The remaining demon caught in his grasp gagged all the more, terror written on his face. Sesshomaru dug his claws just slightly into the skin on his neck. "Tell me what you know."

"I don't know...anything!" he gasped. "Lord Rikuto...just said he wanted to capture the treasure...before it was destroyed!"

_Destroyed..._ Out of anger, Sesshomaru closed his fist, letting his claws slice into the demon's throat. Blood spurted between his fingers and his captive gurgled and jerked. He opened his hand and let him fall to the ground. Whether the demon would bleed to death or eventually heal, it was of no concern to Sesshomaru. He immediately took to the sky.

He darted through the air in the direction from wince the smoke had come that morning, hair and shoulder furs streaming out in almost a horizontal line behind him. Jaken and Ah-Un would just have to wait for his return.

How. How could something like this be happening to Rin. This was the whole reason he had left her behind. Of course he had no guarantee that she was the child in question, but something told him that it could be no other. What other child in Inuyasha's village could be as desirable to malicious eyes as the great Sesshomaru's ward? He thought of all the hundreds of demons he had encountered in the past two days that seemed to be moving toward her with such purpose. And that was only from this area. What if they were coming from all around? His mind raced with questions as to how and why she was suddenly so sought-after, but most importantly he was left to wonder if that worthless half demon brother of his had been able to protect her or not. If Sesshomaru arrived to find Rin already dead, then this would finally be the day when he put an end to Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru flew throughout the night and into the next day. Morning broke clear and cold, a north wind heralding the arrival of autumn. He pressed on as swiftly as he could, watching the miles melt away underneath him as morning became afternoon. He had not realized how far he had strayed from Rin's village this time. At last, when the sun was just starting to sink toward the horizon, he passed over the rice paddies that marked the beginning of the settlement. He couldn't help but notice how deserted they were; no farmers out tending the fields this evening.

Suddenly Sesshomaru caught an alarming scent. It was the trace of an unfamiliar demon near the Bone-Eaters Well. Not only that, but he could detect a hint of Rin's scent in that direction as well. He turned sharply in the air and hastened to the spot.

Sesshomaru touched down among the red and orange fallen leaves. The clearing was deserted; the smells were probably two or three days old. He could not tell what had transpired, only that Rin had apparently been the only human here at the same time as a feline-smelling demon. It was not the scent of that Kirara creature. It was something foreign and much viler. Sesshomaru frowned. Why had Rin been here alone? He had half a mind to kill Inuyasha just for that.

A strong wind whistled through the trees. With it came another odor that assaulted Shesshomaru's senses. Near the creek that ran outside of the village was the smell of watered-down human blood. He cleared the distance in two great leaps. Beside the little river, he found a patch of grass that was slightly red. It had been dry for at least a day. It was a small amount of blood, heavily diluted by water. Because there was so little left, it was difficult for Sesshomaru to be sure, but he thought he could identify the smell of this blood. His frown deepened.

He zipped up the remainder of the road to the village at inhuman speed. When he reached it, he immediately discovered the source of yesterday's smoke pillar. Now just a smoldering pile, it was the remains of various large demons and demon body parts, many of which were in the process of crumbling into ash. He recognized the clean cuts on the severed limbs that could only have been made by Testusaiga.Inuyasha had triumphed over this wave of attackers, but had it been enough?

A glance around the rest of the village increased Sesshomaru's growing sense of dread. Every house within sight was damaged. Some had roofs caved in, others had cracked wooden planks, and some were missing walls altogether. The ground in every direction sported cracks like dried up skin. It looked as though there had been an earthquake. But if so, it must have been both strong and extremely localized, as he had not seen signs of damage anywhere else but here. This could not have been a coincidence.

The villagers all moved about with quiet determination, hammering and shoveling away rubble. When they caught sight of Sesshomaru, they each stopped, one after the other, until everyone simply stood and stared at him. He was a recent enough visitor here to be recognized as a demon that did not pose a threat, but still their faces showed fear and sorrow. No one seemed willing to speak to him.

Sesshomaru felt a growl growing in his throat. He had a terrible suspicion that he already knew what no one would tell him. He jumped straight up and rose into the air high enough that he could get a good scope of the village. He took a moment to carefully sift through all the smells he could discern from this angle. Rin's scent meandered everywhere—not surprising considering the spirited wanderer she was. But the strongest and most recent traces of her came from three places. First was a demolished building just outside the town that may have once been some kind of shed. Sesshomaru gritted his teeth when he saw how drastically the ground had been ripped apart in that spot and wondered if Rin could have been there when the earthquake struck. Second was a particular house that he recognized as the one belonging to the monk and demon slayer's family. It too was destroyed. The largest beam supporting the roof had apparently been dislodged in the disaster, completely smashing through the rest of the small dwelling.

The third place was the house Rin lived in with that old human priestess. From what Sesshomaru could see, it was mostly intact save for an ugly hole in the roof. If Rin was anywhere in this village, it would be there; his nose confirmed she could not be anywhere else. He made a dive for the ground beside the hut, landing with graceful heaviness mere seconds later. As soon as he straightened and took in the sight before him, his chest tightened. The purple kimono he had given Rin was hanging outside on a clothes line. Someone had attempted to wash it, but it was no use. The whole top half was torn and stained heavily with blood. Sesshomaru could smell without a doubt this time whose blood it was.

_No!_ He refused to believe it. He could not accept that Rin was dead. He denied even the verification that Rin's scent was coming mostly from that kimono and not from inside the house. _She__'__s__somewhere,_ he thought. _She__must__be__somewhere._ The Sesshomaru gripped the powerful sword at his side angrily. _I__will__kill__whoever__hid__her__from__me!_

Desperate, he turned his back on the house. One of the humans here would give him answers. He would be sure of it. He would make them talk even if he had to—

"Sesshomaru!"

The demon paused and glanced back over his shoulder. The demon slayer Sango had just appeared outside the hut, bamboo door mat still swaying behind her. He narrowed his eyes slightly. It never ceased to annoy him that none of Inuyasha's friends ever saw fit to add a title to his name.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Sango exclaimed. She looked more disheveled than Sesshomaru had ever seen her before. Even with three small children to care for, her hair and her clothes had always appeared tidy. Right now she looked absolutely frazzled. "So much has happened since you were last here!" she went on. "Rin is...Rin is gone."

Sesshomaru had not felt such a strong surge of emotion race through his heart since the day he thought he had lost Rin permanently in the _meidou_. He stared at the human woman intensely.

"We think she's alive," Sango said quickly, "but we're not sure. After our village was attacked by ogre demons two nights ago, we came to realize that Rin had a demonic curse placed inside her that was attracting nearby demons and influencing them to try and kill her. Kagome could not purify it; she said it ran too deep into her blood. Then last night, a powerful demon named Rikuto appeared and tried to take her. He had the power to create earthquakes. Inuyasha fought with him, but the demon wouldn't battle for long. He was only interested in Rin. She fell into a tunnel he made and then a huge earthquake shook the whole town for several minutes—my children and I would have died if Kirara had not caught a beam that fell from our roof and held it up long enough for us to get outside. By the time I found Miroku and the others, there was no trace of Rin or Rikuto. We have not seen her since."

Sesshomaru turned to face Sango, his gaze no less severe. "How was she cursed?" he demanded.

"We don't know," she replied. "All we could gather was that it happened through some kind of bite she got while near the Bone Eaters Well."

The Bone Eaters Well! Sesshomaru was so furious that he could almost feel his ears burning. The scent of that feline demon he had sensed in that spot was now burned in his memory. That worthless scum would regret the day he ever laid eyes on Rin. And Inuyasha...Sesshomaru was quickly gaining more reasons to hate his half-brother. "And what of Inuyasha?" he asked, barely controlling his temper.

"Inuyasha went after her," Sango reported. This took Sesshomaru's rage down a small notch, but his frown remained intact. "Kagome was injured during the earthquake," she said, "so Inuyasha was torn between staying by her side and chasing after Rin, but Kagome urged him to go. He left last night after he caught what he thought was Rikuto's scent on the wind."

_Hmph_. Inuyasha could not save her. He could not protect her in the first place. "Which way?" he asked.

"He headed north," Sango answered, pointing to her left.

Sesshomaru followed her hand with his eyes, mentally going over all the demon colonies that he knew of in that direction.

"Sesshomaru, please save Rin!" Sango suddenly exclaimed. The demon shifted his attention back to her. There were tears brimming in her eyes. "I know you care about Rin very much, but there are several people here who do too. I just keep thinking that there's no way Inuyasha will get to her in time, or that she might already be dead...and so I beg you..." She bowed low at the waist. It was the most respect he had ever received from her. "...please don't let Rin die."

Sesshomaru looked away. "You do not have to ask me for such a thing." Without another word, he took to the sky.

Already stars were waking up overhead and the temperature was dropping as he headed swiftly north. Sesshomaru tried to block out all the dreadful scenarios forming in his head and focus only on the goal. This Rikuto would pay dearly for what he had done. And when he discovered who was truly behind this dire offense, he would slice them apart piece by piece. He was going to find Rin. And she was going to be alive.

Sesshomaru's hands formed fists inside his wide sleeves as he flew. _I__'__m__coming__for__you__Rin.__Wait__for__me._

_***Author's Note: Just an update for everyone who has encouraged me to finish this story soon...thank you for your patience! Two weeks ago I was involved in a nearly fatal car wreck and I have been busy trying to recover ever since. Luckily, no permanent damage seems to have been done, but the strong painkillers put a nice dent in my creativity and for a while my arms and wrists were too sore to sit at the computer and type at all. The next chapter is underway, and I will try to finish it as quickly as possible. Thank you again for sticking with me!_

_~Optimistique _


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: Thanks for your patience everyone! I know this next installment was a long time coming... Last month I was involved in a pretty serious car wreck that resulted in injuries that kept me out of work and off the computer for two weeks. I didn't do any writing during that time, and I've been recovering and catching up ever since. However, I'm feeling much better now, so as long as writer's block doesn't attack me, I should be able to get back to it. I now feel even greater sympathy for the pain Rin is going through in this chapter...some of her symptoms are inspired by my own recent experience, although it was broken glass that cut me up, not a demon's claws. ;) I hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter 7**

Rin did not know how long she and Rikuto had traveled underground, but when they finally emerged onto the world above, it was still nighttime, and she was in a place she did not recognize. By then she was pretty sure several of the stitches on her back had popped from being held around her middle like a rag doll for so long. When wetness began seeping down to her shoulder, she knew that the wound was opening up and bleeding again. It also did not help that her lungs had trouble getting enough air at the awkward angle or that blood was pooling in her head, making it feel light as spots danced in her eyes.

Once Rikuto blasted at last onto the surface and took a couple of steps on solid ground, he dropped Rin unceremoniously in the dirt. She landed with a thud on her stomach and did not move. She immediately coughed and took a few deep breaths as her vision slowly cleared. She had never felt such intense pain as that screaming across her back. Her cuts felt raw as her bloody kimono clung to her skin.

"There now. This should be far enough away to throw your friends off our trail," Rikuto said. He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Rin wondered if there was a limit to how much he could move the earth around before it started to wear on his power. He pulled out a container of water from a pouch on his belt and drank from it. Only then did Rin realize that she was thirsty as well. Her stomach felt sick. A cold drink of water could do wonders. She wasn't about to ask this demon for anything though. One wrong word and he may change his mind about not killing her himself.

From where she lay on the ground, Rin heard the rustling of footsteps in the underbrush. It was accompanied by a primal grunting sound. She tried to lift her head and see what it was, but her back throbbed in protest, so she remained still. Rikuto looked back and growled in frustration. He hit the ground with the end of his staff, sending waves of movement behind him. Rin guessed from the hard splatting sound that resulted that he had made a rock wall for the monster-like demon to run into. The footsteps stopped after this, but then she was quickly distracted by a large black beetle that suddenly climbed onto her arm.

Even though it hurt to move, Rin swiftly flicked it off. Three more took its place. Then suddenly they were everywhere, burrowing up from underground quicker than normal insects should be able to. Each of them had four glowing red eyes on its head. These aren't normal bugs...they're demons! Rin realized as she flailed her limbs to get them off.

Rikuto swore as he looked down at her. He gave the ground another hard knock with his staff. This time Rin heard a crack and felt them both rising up into the air. A section of ground a few meters wide carried them up above the trees. She brushed the last of the beetles off and let them plummet. Rikuto crushed another one under his boot. He sneered down at Rin and said, "You'd better be worth the trouble you cause!"

The little human curled up into a ball, clinging to the dirt slab underneath her as they moved forward through the air. An uneven trail of tears glittered in the starlight behind her. She sincerely hoped that no one was following them. She couldn't bear it if one of her friends was killed while trying to save her. Especially when she would probably end up dying anyway.

She wanted to believe that Lord Sesshomaru would come for her, just like he always had in the past, but had to keep reminding herself that that could not happen. It's a good thing, she told herself. It's a good thing that he's far away and doesn't even know I'm gone. That way he won't be influenced by my curse too. But even as she tried to take comfort in that fact, her heart felt increasingly hollow inside.

She closed her eyes and tried to think of happier days: when Jaken told her that the whole reason Lord Sesshomaru was chasing Naraku was because he had dared kidnap her. When her lord had followed her up Mt. Hakurei to take her back from the Band of Seven. When they had first met, and he asked her how she got the bruises on her face. When they had visited Sesshomaru's mother, and then suddenly Rin found herself waking up with her liege beside her, one hand gently on her face as if to see if she were alright... She had no idea how she managed to fall asleep, but somehow dreaming of Lord Sesshomaru allowed her to block out the pain enough to let her body give in to exhaustion.

It seemed like an eternity later when she at last woke up. Pain assaulted her immediately, and with a miserable groan she groggily tried to determine where she was now. She was surprised to find that everything still looked dark. Surely morning had come by now. Rin carefully pushed herself up, straining muscles that were sore from her injury. A small cry of surprise escaped her lips when her head suddenly ran into a low ceiling. As a matter of fact...she was surrounded by dirt walls in an extremely tight space. Bright rays of sunlight streamed in from thin cracks between the slabs of earth that formed her minute prison. Pressing one eye flat against the closest of the small openings, Rin squinted out at what lay beyond.

In her sliver of vision, she caught sight of what looked like a gateway to a walled city. It was well disguised; from what she could see, the walls were made of tightly-knit tree trunks that may have been mistaken for a dense forest by an unsuspecting passerby. But Rin could tell that the trunks were placed in a precise pattern, and the two demon guards standing before the gate were a dead giveaway.

They appeared somewhat human, but hunched with fierce red irises and skin that looked like tree bark. Each wore two small axes on their belt.

"And what makes you think Lord Mikio is interested in your human?" one of them asked in a scratchy voice. "It's true that he'll kidnap and eat a human that gets lost in his forest from time to time, but they are abundant enough, and I can guarantee you he's never paid for one before."

Rikuto stood before them, his back to Rin. "My good demons, can you not feel it?" he asked in a smooth voice quite unlike the one he usually used to growl at his prisoner. "Can you not sense the intense desire for destruction swell inside of you when you even glance at the cage behind me?"

The two demon guards looked passed him, and Rin had the urge to shrink away even though she knew she was too tightly enclosed to be visible to them.

"What kind of human do you have in there exactly?" asked the one who had not spoken yet. "A feudal lord or something? Or a monk that slays demons?"

"Neither," Rikuto answered. "A young girl. A helpless child about to reach her prime."

The way he said that made Rin's skin crawl. He seemed far too excited to be trying to pedal off a child. And his potential customers looked too pleased to hear it.

"That so?" the second one said.

But the first was more stubborn. He frowned, causing mossy eyebrows to rub together. "Our lord has instructed us not to let anyone into the city without invitation, especially some demon trying to gain fortune off of a mere human pet. Leave now, for your own good."

Rikuto's free hand twitched. "I think you underestimate the value of this prize," he said in a low tone. He dragged the tip of his long staff across the forest floor. Suddenly the ground beneath Rin began to move. Her entire surroundings lifted up and scraped itself forward across the dirt with her inside. She came to a stop right at Rikuto's feet. With a resounding shatter, all of the walls around her fell apart. Rin was left in the open, on her knees before the piercing eyes of the three demons. Before she could even consider running away, the earth came up and closed itself around her hands so that she was pinned down at the wrists.

She stared up at them, unable to stop herself from trembling. The guards were even more disturbing up close. Tiny insects scurried up and down between the folds of the demons' rough skin, making them look like live oak trees that had stepped out of the woods and decided to take on humanoid features.

After a moment of silent consideration, one of them reached out a gnarled hand and ran his fingers across the bloody cloth on her back. Rin let out a high-pitched groan of pain. The demon brought his fingers to his mouth and licked them with a surprisingly long tongue. His strange eyes bulged in their dry sockets. "Oh... Oh yes, I see... She is simply delicious..."

Clearly fighting with himself, the other demon finally gave in and did the same as his companion. He too immediately became enamored with the taste of her blood. "What is she?" he asked eagerly. "She can't be just human. No human tastes this good!"

They both tried to reach for the revolted Rin once more, like children licking sugar from a bowl, but Rikuto snapped his staff into the path of their hands so that they hit it with a dull thunk. "Now, now gentlemen," he said with a shrewd smile. "We both know how angry your lord would be if you devoured the treat that I was trying to bring to him. Now, lead me to him or else I shall have to take this girl elsewhere for sale."

The two guards looked at each other. The first one gave a nod, and the other said to Rikuto, "Alright then. I'll take you to Lord Mikio. But don't expect him to be easily swayed! He may just as soon kill you than listen to your proposition!"

"Don't you worry," Rin's captor responded. "I have had dealings with your lord before, and I know that his senses are much sharper than yours seem to be. He can probably already feel this child approaching."

Rin did not like the sound of that one bit. She was tugged to her feet when the hard earth covering her hands separated itself from the ground, forming some kind of crude rock gloves around her fists. It moved forward in midair and she was forced to stumble after. She followed single-file between the demon guard in front of her and Rikuto behind her as the tree trunk gate swung open toward them.

Rin was astonished to see that an entire town lay beyond. Tucked so well into the forest that it easily would have been missed by humans, it was a village carved out of the trees. It was difficult to tell where one building began and another ended, and almost just as hard to determine what were trees and what were demons. All of the inhabitants that Rin could see looked similar to the guards: bark-like skin, mossy hair, and stiff in a stature. Most of them within sight paused to stare at her as she walked by.

Her bottom lip quivered. She was being led as a pig to the slaughter. These demons are going to eat me! she thought frantically. I have to escape! But the rocks tight in place kept her hands from being of any use, and her legs wobbled beneath her. Her back was sending so much pain into every area of her body that it sapped nearly all her strength. It was all she could do to order her feet to keep pace with the demons.

As they wound through the village on its curvy main road, Rin caught a glimpse of white skin, black hair, and flowing robes flitting through the crowd of demons and trees. With a start, she stopped in her tracks. She could have sworn she had just seen another human! Could it be someone she knew? The head of a woman suddenly poked out from behind a demon, brown eyes considering her curiously. She was not someone Rin recognized, but she definitely looked human. The only thing strange about her was that she kept her sleeve covering her mouth, even though she showed no other signs of surprise or repulsion.

Rikuto gave Rin a jab from behind with his staff. "Move it," he growled quietly.

The little girl staggered on, and when she looked back, the unusual woman was nowhere to be found. But as they continued, she thought she could catch glimpses of trailing black hair darting through the tree trunks. As a matter of fact, brief images of women in different colored kimonos came from both sides of her. There seemed to be several of them dancing in and out of her range of vision, each of them obscuring their mouth in some way.

It seemed like a long time before they finally came to a building unlike the others. This one was more familiar to Rin in that it was constructed of sanded wood planks and painted. Much like dwellings of wealthy humans, the doorways were made of sliding rice paper doors instead of the hanging bamboo mats that she was accustomed to. The forest grew all around the house, right up to the walls, and so it was impossible to tell exactly how large it was.

The guard stopped before stepping up onto the wooden deck that wound around the mansion's perimeter. He was stood silently in place, making no effort to announce himself or the people he was escorting. After a moment, a woman padded softly into view upon the deck. She was another of the odd human-looking beings dressed in a beautiful layered kimono. This one had a colorful scarf tied around the lower half of her face, obscuring her mouth and neck.

"The Master is expecting you," she said through the cloth. Her eyes locked onto Rin, and the girl received a chill up her spine. "Come along."

The tree demon turned and nodded to Rikuto. It seemed he would not be taking them any farther. Rikuto prodded Rin again and she stepped up to the deck. It was at least a meter off the ground. She put her elbows on the wooden planks and tried to hoist herself up, but the effort only brought on a fresh bout of pain. She found that she could not even lift her leg up far enough to climb. Rikuto impatiently grabbed a handful of her clothes and hoisted her with him as he stepped up.

When he let her drop, the earth around her hands broke apart. He must have realized, as Rin was starting to, that there was no way for her to escape now, handcuffed or not. The path before them around the mansion was a narrow one, encompassed by trees. Even if she did manage to give the entire town of demons the slip and run away, she did not think she would have the energy to get very far.

It was finally hitting home. This was real. She was truly about to die. Her bottom lip quivered. There's no way out... The words echoed inside her mind as if in an empty canyon. Not sure what else to do, she numbly walked between the woman and Rikuto into the shadows of the trees.

Rin hardly felt her dirty feet connecting with the wooden boards. All she could think about was the faces of the people she cared for. Sango and Miroku's family, Inuyasha and Kagome, Kaede-obaba...and Lord Sesshomaru. She did not realize that tears were leaking from her eyes until she tasted their saltiness on the corners of her mouth. Oh, if only she could have seen him one last time! She would have given anything at that moment to just hear his voice again.

Rin sniffled, not caring how loudly it echoed in the deep silence, and held up her chin. If she was going to die, she would face her fate bravely, just like Lord Sesshomaru would. He would want me to be brave, she thought. And so I will. She wiped her face on the sleeve of her robe and marched on defiantly to face her doom.

She was amazed at how quiet everything was. Despite all the vegetation, no birds sang in the branches, and no insects hummed a busy cadence on the breeze. There was no trace of noise from inside the mansion either. For all its vast size, the seemingly endless rooms were deadly silent. Only the sound of the three people's footsteps rang in the air.

The walk seemed to take years; knowing that every step would be one of her last made time elapse in slow motion for Rin. At long last they came to a particular set of sliding doors that the woman saw fit to stop before. They opened as if on their own accord, as did another set of doors a little way behind them. Inside the inner room Rin could see a surprisingly well-lit hall that had a ceiling made out of the branches and leaves from the trees all around. The room was much longer than it was wide. One long tatami mat ran the length of the floor. Seated on either side of it were at least a dozen of the odd women wearing scarves around their necks. At the very end, a demon sat cross-legged on a platform. It was another of the tree demons, but this one was larger and dressed in fine silk robes. He had a full beard of moss and eyes so sharp that Rin could see them from here.

Suddenly Rikuto grabbed Rin's ponytail. He dragged her into the hall as she tripped awkwardly, and once their guide had followed after them, the doors closed behind them all. She tried not to whimper as she was pulled across the floor. All eyes were on her, as if seeing straight through to her soul. When they approached the platform, Rikuto threw her down before the demon lord. Rin landed on her hands and knees and took a moment to recover before slowly glancing up at what she assumed was the demon that would have the honor of eating her.

Rikuto bowed low at the waist. "My Lord Mikio. I appreciate your agreeing to see me on such short notice."

"Rikuto-san," the other demon replied. His voice was deep and sounded very old. "It's been many a year since you last came to my forest to market your wares."

"Indeed, too long my lord," Rikuto said as he straightened. A cocky smile stretched across his lips. "But never have I brought you such a treasure as this. Although this human's appearance is ragged, she is highly sought after by thousands of demons. Aside from the delectable taste of her blood, there is something about her, which you can surely feel, that inspires demons of all kinds toward destruction. A human this desired by all demonkind is rare indeed! Imagine what renown you could gain if it were made known that you were the one that devoured her at last."

Lord Mikio's eyes darted between the speaker and his product as he made his proposition. When he had heard enough, he held up one ancient hand and Rikuto fell silent. "I can see what you mean. ...Yes, I can feel the urge to destroy her where she sits, as do my nukekubi."

Nukekubi? Rin wondered with dread. Then she noticed that all of the women around them had hunched over more and were growling deep in their throats like dogs. A few of their eyes began to look red. Rin had no doubt now that they were demonic as well.

Lord Mikio waved a hand at them and they quieted down. "However, I am not yet convinced that purchasing this human would be beneficial to me. Let us examine her more closely so that I might determine her worth."

All of a sudden his right arm extended unnaturally and his fingers became like vines. They shot towards Rin and before she could do so much as flinch, rough vines attached themselves to her forehead in five places. She felt as if celestial tendrils entered her brain and began to probe around as if searching for something. Suddenly images began to flash before her eyes. She recognized them as memories from her past, played out in fast forward. Feeling paralyzed, she could only sit and watch as scenes flashed by of her parents and brothers, of the night bandits attacked their village, of her time as a lonely orphan, her days with Lord Sesshomaru and Jaken, and her new life in the village alongside Inuyasha. Once he had gleaned what must have been a rough summary of her life, Mikio forced her mind back to dwell on Sesshomaru.

He saw the memories she had of looking up at him adoringly. He saw when Sesshomaru came to Mt. Hakurei to rescue her, and when he found her inside of Naraku's body. He watched the dog demon say quietly as he looked down at her, "You're alright now..." All of Rin's most precious memories about her lord were laid out before Mikio like a kabuki play. Then he skipped ahead to scenes of Inuyasha. The times Rin had witnessed him in battle, the hugs she would sometimes give him, his fierce defense of her against Rikuto. He also listened as Kagome explained to Rin about her curse and why demons were coming after her.

Finally, when he must have learned all he wanted to know, his fingers retreated from her head. When his hand regained its normal shape, he rested it on his knee and then closed his eyes thoughtfully. After a moment of silence he rumbled, "Rikuto...you do not know what you truly possess. I would guess that you do not even know why this child's death is so desirable. Until she is killed, demons will continue to hunt her. They will assault my forest in search of her, especially under the cover of nighttime."

Rikuto was not fazed. "Then you best eat her quickly, my lord."

"I was not finished. When the girl dies, most will give up their pursuit of her, but there are others who will not, and if her memories are any indication, they are certainly a force to be reckoned with."

Rikuto sneered, starting to lose confidence. "If you are referring to that half-demon and his mortal wife, I assure you they will pose no real threat," he declared defensively. "I easily avoided them to kidnap the child."

"In part I do mean the one called Inuyasha, and I think he has more power than you give him credit for," the lord of the tree demons replied. "But even more so than him is the daiyoukai known as Sesshomaru. He possesses great power, and he will surely come for the girl. He has several times before. Even if he finds her dead, I am sure he will exact revenge upon any who so much as touch her."

"My Lord Mikio," Rikuto said through his teeth, "are you telling me that with all your power and resources, you are afraid of one lone demon? Will you let him stop you from gaining all the status and pleasure that this treasure can provide?"

The ancient demon fixed his eyes directly on his guest. "You do not bring a treasure. You bring a war. And it is you who should be afraid of Sesshomaru."

Rikuto's hand tightened on his staff. He lifted it a few inches off the ground and then let its tip fall heavily back to the floor. When it did, the ground beneath them all began to shake. The nukekubi shrank back from him as the walls of the room rattled and leaves rained down from the tree branches above. Mikio just sat, unmovable, and narrowed his eyes at the other demon.

"Do not underestimate me," Rikuto said in a low voice. "I am the son of the land. The very earth obeys my commands. I will kill this Sesshomaru if he dares challenge me."

"NO!" Rin suddenly burst. Everyone in the room glanced at her, as they had not heard her speak yet. "P-please," she stuttered, a bit surprised as well that her voice had broken through her fear. "Please don't hurt Lord Sesshomaru... He doesn't know I'm here. He won't come for me. So please, don't kill him!"

"He seems to have formed a strong bond with her," Mikio remarked, turning his attention back to Rikuto. "And do not misunderstand me. I have no fear of Sesshomaru. While you may be the son of the land, I am the father of trees. This forest is at my beck and call. But there would certainly be damage to my facilities and my men if Sesshomaru or a horde of demons were to attack. I am not seeking battle here. The child is not worth it."

"On the contrary," the other demon said, regaining his cool. Rikuto reached into his leather bracer and pulled out a dagger that had been concealed there. "I think you will find that she is." With one lightning fast swipe, he sliced Rin on the side of her right shoulder. She let out a yelp as blood quickly littered the floor and soaked her sleeve. The red wetness trickled down the blade. He tossed the dagger to Mikio.

The demon lord easily caught the hilt in his hand and then slowly brought the knife to his ancient face. First he sniffed at the blood and then to Rin's horror he licked it, just like his servants had done. His tongue was even longer, more gray, and covered with unnaturally large bumps.

"Hmm," he rumbled thoughtfully, closing his eyes as if savoring the flavor.

The nukekubi crowded around the platform on which he sat. "Please master!" they begged. "Please let us eat her! If her blood is so good, imagine what her flesh must taste like!"

"They speak the truth," Rikuto coaxed. "It may come with slight risks, but you know very well that this opportunity is too good to pass up."

After a long moment of silence, Mikio opened his eyes again. "I will give you one chance Rikuto. If calamity comes of this transaction, then I shall hold you responsible. However, if you are as powerful as you say, then kill Sesshomaru before he can bring destruction here, and then you may have your pick of the items in my vast treasury."

Rikuto frowned. "Killing Sesshomaru was not part of my deal."

"But it is part of mine. Only once he is dead shall you receive payment—to insure that this girl is in fact a prize as you say and not a curse upon us."

"Fine," the earth demon grunted. "But my price will be double what I originally offered."

"Agreed. Now, if you would like to step outside, one of my servants will find you a room. For you need not go looking for Sesshomaru. He will find you here soon enough. Just to be sure he does, we will not kill the girl until you have defeated him so that her scent will remain strong for him."

Rikuto bowed again and turned away, leaving Rin behind. One of the nukekubi, the one whom had first lead them here, came and took hold of Rin by her good shoulder.

"No..." the girl managed to whisper, but her voice wouldn't cooperate again after that. They're going to kill him! she silently cried, feeling her eyes water. Even worse than the thought of being dinner for demons was the knowledge that Lord Sesshomaru would have to die as the price.

Rin's head was growing increasingly light. Fresh blood leaked all down her arm and the cuts on her back stung worse than ever. I have to get away... she thought vaguely as consciousness started to give way to pain-stricken oblivion. I have to warn Lord Sesshomaru before it's too late...

The last thing she heard as she was dragged from the room was Mikio say, "Tend to her wounds. We don't want her dying before it's time."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Inuyasha crouched on his hands and knees, smelling the ground for the hundredth time. Rikuto's scent was faint to begin with; it was so similar to common soil that it was difficult to distinguish. As soon as he had caught his smell on the wind and Kagome convinced him that she was going to be just fine, he had taken off in pursuit of Rin and her kidnapper. He had run full speed until daylight, at which time he lost the scent completely. He knew it was somewhere in this general area, but everything was beginning to blend together now, and Inuyasha had no idea where to look next.

"Dammit..." he grumbled, pushing himself off the ground. Judging on how Rikuto and Rin had disappeared, Inuyasha figured they had traveled underground after leaving the village, which would have masked their scents very well. Still, he was sure they had eventually emerged and stepped on the ground right around here. It was that which gave the half demon the lead he needed to get this far. "But where did he go?" Inuyasha demanded of no one.

He had been searching for any other signs of their whereabouts since dawn. Now it was mid morning, and he was exhausted, frustrated, and no closer to finding them than when he started. "Dammit!" he repeated, this time with more fervor. He knew Sango and the others were probably beside themselves with worry. And as long as no one was around to hear it, Inuyasha would admit that he was worried sick about the little girl as well. He wanted to bring her home safe and sound, and not just because he was afraid of what Sesshomaru might do to him if he didn't.

Plopping down in front of a tree, he leaned against the trunk and shut his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Rikuto said that he was interested in taking Rin as a "prize," and he hadn't killed her even when he had the chance, which likely meant that she was still alive. What could he have wanted to do with a cursed human child? Maybe he was sent by someone else to retrieve her, Inuyasha realized. But who, and from where? He growled. He needed Miroku when it came to strategy. Inuyasha was a man of action.

A cool wind whistled through the trees, startling a few birds. The half demon's dog ears perked up. There was an interesting scent on that wind. It was very slight, but...he could have sworn it smelled like human blood. He jumped up at once and followed the scent through the woods. It was coming from the underbrush. Inuyasha proceeded carefully, sniffing the air with intense concentration. Finally he came across a spot that he very nearly missed. The source of the smell was a tiny section of dirt where sat a few drops of dried blood.

He bent down to smell it up close. It was familiar; it was the same scent that had filled Kaede's hut the day Rin got her stitches. Inuyasha's heart rate sped. She was here! Either her wound had opened up again or that bastard he given her a new injury. He could smell Rikuto around here too, now that he thought about it. This must have been where they came up from underground.

But their scents ended here. They appeared from nowhere and disappeared into nothing. The only thing left behind was a cluster of dead beetles that were significantly ugly and smelled like demons. They littered the forest floor in this area and, Inuyasha noticed, in a line leading north. He followed the trail of dead bugs until he couldn't find any more. But where this ended, the wind brought to him another gracious hint. This time it was on the uppermost leaves of a nearby tree. He easily jumped up its branches until he found what he was looking for: a few more scattered drops of Rin's blood. It seemed as though Rikuto had traveled with her underground and then decided to fly the rest of the way on a slab of earth like he had when he attacked the village.

Inuyasha supposed it was lucky, in a morbid sort of way, that Rin was still injured enough to bleed freely. It might be the only way that he would find her. It was a scant lead at best, but with meticulous searching, the half demon managed to find more scattered droplets of blood that took him steadily north. The process was maddeningly slow. Sometimes it took him an hour just to find the next spot. If Rin's safety hadn't been on the line, he never would have had the patience to do it.

The forest grew increasingly dense as the day wore on, and no human villages were in sight. This was unfamiliar territory to Inuyasha. This was not the same way they had gone when they pursued Naraku northward three years ago. Then they had followed roads and passed by settlements. This was wild land, probably filled with demons and animals, and mostly untouched by human hands.

The sun was just starting to sink when Inuyasha caught the strongest presence of Rin's scent that he has sensed yet. He hurried toward it, jumping between the trees anywhere that he could find a place. At last he came upon what must have been the source. It was a section of hard ground that had an inexplicable chunk missing. Inuyasha could smell that not only had Rin's blood been here, but she must have been sitting or laying in this area for a while. It looked as though Rikuto had placed her here and then moved the earth underneath her for some reason. Inuyasha stood up straight and sniffed the air, hoping for another clue as to where she had been taken next.

He found it curious that the tree trunks just a little ways before him we not only so close together, but appeared to be growing in a perfectly straight line. It almost looked like a crudely-made door...

It was then that he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The half demon quickly ducked behind the nearest tree, one hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt. Two figures moved about in the waning light, but instead of walking on the ground, they appeared to be walking among the trees in a straight line. Inuyasha narrowed his golden eyes. They were moving too smoothly to be hopping from branch to branch. It looked more like there was a plank constructed somewhere out of sight. As one of them moved into a ray of sunlight, he caught a better glimpse of its appearance. He was surprised to see what looked like the cross between a man and a tree marching back and forth and carrying a spear. Inuyasha took a deep breath in through his nose. "Yep," he said quietly. "Demons." He had never seen this type of demon before, but that did not change their scent.

The two demons up ahead nodded as they walked past each other on the plank and then took up opposite posts on either side of the door made of trees. They must be guards, Inuyasha thought. From here his nose could tell that beyond that gate there was likely a great deal of demons. Not only that, but Rin had definitely walked that way. He could smell traces of her disappearing behind the door.

A smile raised one side of his mouth. "So she's inside there." Alright then. His thumb flicked Tetsusaiga an inch out of its sheath. The wind scar should cut a nice path for him to get through. But one of the unfortunate side effects of working with Miroku for the past three years was that sometimes Inuyasha found the monk's voice would enter his head and make him do something that he previously had little experience in: thinking before he acted. "Wait Inuyasha," Miroku would say. "Rin may be inside there, but we don't know exactly where. If you blindly swing the Wind Scar, you might accidentally hurt her too."

Inuyasha sighed in exasperation. "Dammit all Miroku...even when you're not here you're still talking sense in my head." He slid the Tetsusaiga back down into its sheath. Fine. Then he would find Rin and make sure she was safe first, and then blast all these demons to hell.

The half demon took a few steps back into the shadows. If this was an entrance to some kind of town, then it must have other boundaries as well. He needed to find a way in from the side, and then he might be able to sniff Rin out before he was discovered. This was not his style at all. He much preferred bold rashness to stealth, but until he was sure who and where his enemy was, he would have to be patient.

Still not releasing his hand from his sword, Inuyasha crept through the dense trees. It was difficult to discern from the rest of the forest, but there did appear to be a long wall of tightly knit tree trunks before him as he moved quietly along. It seemed to be a very well-hidden city of indiscernible size. And coming from every inch of the place, intermixed with the fresh smell of leaves, was the stench of demons. There were hundreds of them living there. No, easily a thousand or more.

There has to be a way in, Inuyasha thought. There just had to be some way for him to get inside without alerting the whole town. Daylight continued to fade as he crept the length of the never-ending wall, scrutinizing it with his keen eyes for any kind of small opening that would provide him an opportunity. Finding none, he finally stopped and swore again, quietly. These demons did not want to be discovered, and they were very good at preventing it. At the very least, Inuyasha noticed a few changes the deeper he got into the woods: a demonic aura was beginning to leak out of the city, as if it could not be contained anymore. As a result, it was extremely quiet here, with no night birds or any other creatures making a sound, as if they could not stand the ambiance. This must be where the most powerful demons are, Inuyasha thought. If they're keeping Rin anywhere in there, it would be here, right? This wall was not so tall that he couldn't scale it with one jump. Now that he had a direction in mind, he felt much better about forcing his way in, if necessary.

With one bend of his knees, he launched himself through the air, passing easily above the tree branches. From this angle, the light of a harvest moon shone more clearly upon what looked like the roof of an extensive mansion laid out behind the wall. Inuyasha squinted his eyes as he began to travel back downward. A dim figure appeared to be standing upon the roof, barely visible among the shadows of the trees.

Just then, something roughly snapped around his left wrist. "What the hell—" But that's all he could get out before something similar grabbed both his ankles and began wrapping itself around his right shoulder. Inuyasha paused just long enough to confirm that it was some sort of branch-like vines that held him before jerking his arms free and slashing the rest with his claws. He reached for Tetsusaiga as he continued to fall down, but found that more vines awaited him below; they were coming out of the darkness of the forest.

Growling, Inuyasha braced himself against the first solid branch that he came to and tried again to jump for the wall. The vines beat him to it, and although he was able to pull his sword out of its sheath, they quickly immobilized his hands once again, in much greater numbers this time. He was hardly able to move Tetsusaiga, much less conjure the Wind Scar.

As the half demon struggled furiously, pinned in the air as if caught in a spider web, the figure on the roof slowly levitated upwards. Then it came straight towards him. Inuyasha did not need to hear him speak before he recognized his stench.

"What do you know? I set a trap for a daiyoukai, and I catch a half demon instead," Rikuto said. He floated calmly on a slab of earth, stopping just a few meters away from his captive. "Inuyasha, was it? You're not who I expected, but you'll do for a warm up exercise."

"Rikuto, you bastard!" Inuyasha barked. "What did you do with the girl?"

"She's not your concern anymore," he answered coolly. "She should be dead by tomorrow, provided Sesshomaru arrives on time."

Inuyasha's ears perked up. "Sesshomaru?" They've found out about him, he thought with some unease. He wouldn't put it past his half-brother to have discovered Rin's absence somehow, and if Inuyasha's nose could track her this far, then Sesshomaru's certainly could too. But there was no telling how far away he had been, and how long it would take him to get here.

"Yes, there's been a new development since we last met," Rikuto said. "I only get paid once this Sesshomaru is dead. And you too of course. So as you can see, I have quite the incentive to get the job over with." He waved his staff in a wide arc to his right. Inuyasha could feel the vibrations of the ground tremor through the ties that bound him. Dozens of boulder-sized, hard chunks of dirt came racing up to their level. They positioned themselves in a wide ring around Inuyasha. "So do me a favor, half demon, and die quickly."

A low rumble stirred Rin from a very deep and troubled sleep. It took a few seconds before she could convince her eyes to open. Once she finally did, all she could make out was a mass of blurriness. A sweet scent tickled her nose, and out of instinct she curled forward and sneezed. It was then that she realized she was sitting neck deep in a pool of liquid.

Alarmed, she sat back up quickly and forced her vision to clear. She seemed to be in a small wooden washtub in a steamy room lit by many lanterns. All of her clothes had been removed; even her ponytail had been taken out, and the ends of her black hair floated on the surface of the warm water.

It took Rin but a moment to remember up until when she had last been conscious. One of the nukekubi had been half leading, half dragging her through the mansion hallways until she finally lost all of the strength she had left. After that it seems they gave her a bath, but she could not imagine why. It was then that she realized something amazing: her back no longer hurt. Cautiously, she reached a hand over her shoulder to feel the skin on her back. The gouges from Kirara's claws were still there, but did not feel as deep as they had been previously, and were not bleeding anymore. The stitches were gone.

"I see you're awake," a feminine voice suddenly said. Rin's eyes snapped to the room's only door, where stood the nukekubi whom had led them to Mikio's chamber earlier that day. "It seems our Lord's special brew is working nicely." She approached on soft feet.

Rin scooted back against the edge of the tub and pulled her knees to her chest, keeping her gaze locked on the woman's face. The demon knelt down and daintily swirled one finger in the water. "It's imbued with the power of nature," she explained, "which means that your body's healing becomes greatly accelerated. Your wounds should have closed, although it will not completely heal until you have stewed some more."

Rin shrank back even more at her choice of words. With her other hand, the nukekubi reached into one of her sleeves and produced some dried herbs that Rin did not recognize. Standing, she sprinkled them into the washtub, letting the leaves float down and slowly sink as they soaked up the water.

She shut her eyes and appeared to be breathing deeply, despite the fact that her nose and mouth were still covered by the scarf. "Such a wonderful smell. We need to be sure you are untarnished to begin with. The nerve of that Rikuto, delivering damaged merchandise. If a human like you is going to be devoured, they should at least have all of their blood intact."

Rin whimpered and frantically looked toward the door, wondering if she could bypass the demon and make a run for it. Suddenly the nukekubi lunged forward pressed her face right up against Rin's so that their noses were just inches apart. "Don't even think about it," she hissed in a terrifying voice. Her breath smelled rotten as it brushed against Rin's cheeks. "I know you are recovering your strength as you heal, but there is no way you could escape, understand? Just outside that door there are a dozen guards, all with orders to make sure you remain in this room. If you try to leave, they will attack you; you can always be healed and prepared again as long as you're alive." She leaned back slowly. "If we nukekubi had not been ordered to stay out, we would likely all be in here watching you very closely and wetting our appetite. I merely came in to see how you were coming along."

Just then another rumble shook the building, similar to the one that had stirred Rin from sleep. This made the demon straighten and glance idly toward the roof. "Sounds like it's begun. I did not expect Sesshomaru to get here so quickly, but the sooner the better I suppose. The sooner Rikuto kills him, the sooner we may eat."

With a gasp, Rin jumped to her feet, making the water and herbs slosh just like when she had last given Ayaka and Hiromi a bath. "Lord Sesshomaru is here?" she cried. She could not stop her heart from leaping with this news. He came for me! Just like he always did before! But then she quickly corrected herself; this was not a good thing. He had been led here to die! He could be in serious danger.

"Get back in there!" the nukekubi spat, shoving Rin's shoulders so that she slipped back down into the tub. "You're not ready yet, and you will stay here until you are!"

The door suddenly slid open partway. One of the tree demons could be seen outside it, peaking in. "Akane, you've spent long enough in there. You know what Lord Mikio said."

"Yes I know," she snarled. "As though he doesn't trust me to obey him and not eat her." In a huff, she turned to leave, but paused just before the doorway. "Remember what I told you human. There is no way out of here. Accept your fate and stay put." She closed the door behind her with a thump.

Rin stood up again at once. That demon had to be wrong. She had to find a way to get out of here and reach Lord Sesshomaru before it was too late for both of them. As little streams of warm water trickled down her skin, she examined the room more closely. Her clothes had been tossed into a pile in one corner. Other than that, the only other object in the room was the washtub itself. This sat on top of a metal grate which opened onto a fire pit below the floor. Logs burned there with small flames, which was what kept the water warm and steamy.

Rin shivered when a cold breeze hit her wet body, causing goose bumps to rise all over her limbs. Then she paused. Why was there a breeze? When she looked toward the ceiling, she was surprised to find thin, horizontal windows at the very top of the wall, designed to let the hot air filter out so that the bather would not become overwhelmed by the warmth. They looked very small, but her heart rate sped with excitement as she wondered if she could squeeze through them.

She stepped out of the tub in a cascade of water. Quickly ringing out her hair, she went for her clothes. The kimono was caked with dried blood, but she did not care. Dirty clothes were much better than none. She tried to dry herself off as much as possible with the sash and then got dressed. Just as soon as she was done, she hurried back to the wall with the windows. They were much higher than she first realized. Even when she stood on her tip toes and reached up the wall, she could not touch the bottom of the window. This must be why the demons did not concern themselves with leaving her in a place with an opening to the outside.

But Rin was not to be defeated so easily. She searched for anything she could use to give her a boost, or to help her climb. If only she could overturn the washtub, then she could stand on it like a stool. But the water-filled cylinder would be too heavy for her to even budge.

Suddenly the ground shook again, rattling the rafters of the roof. I have to try! Rin thought urgently. For Lord Sesshomaru's sake! She shuffled back to the tub. She tried to push it toward the wall, first shoving it with her hands and then throwing her weight against it with her shoulder. She even tried lying on her back and pushing it with her feet, but accomplished nothing.

"It's no use," she mumbled aloud. "It's just too heavy..." She would never move it while it was full of water, but it occurred to her then that maybe she could if it was empty. She had no bucket or tin cup or any of the other tools she would use to scoop liquids while cooking or gardening back in the village, so instead she hastily rolled up her sleeves and plunged her arms into the water. Forming a cup with her hands, she splashed as much water as she could upon the wooden floor. Some of it slithered down the sides of the tub and hissed as it dripped onto the smoldering logs below the grate. Again and again she sloshed water out onto the floor, trying to be quick but also quiet so as not to alert the demons outside the door.

The earth shook several more times as she worked methodically, sweat beading on her forehead and the front of her clothes getting soaked with herbal water. Finally, when the basin was over halfway empty, Rin stood back to catch her breath.

Just then the floor trembled more powerfully than it had yet, and Rin could hear the crashing of something heavy and the clanging of metal coming from somewhere outside.

I'm running out of time! she thought urgently. Steeling herself with a deep breath, she shoved at the tub again, this time lifting from the bottom lip with her knees. With creaking and sloshing, the barrel-like container slowly tipped and then suddenly clattered onto its side, spilling the rest of the water onto the floor and down through the grate. The fire below extinguished in a stream of heavy smoke.

Rin couldn't help but smile and clap her hands. Sango would have been proud of her determination and stamina! But there was no more time to celebrate. She froze as she heard movement and alarmed voices outside her door. Then a great collision of broken wood sounded, and the voices moved farther away. The battle must be drawing near.

Lord Sesshomaru is close! Rin realized excitedly. I have to get to him quickly!

Glad for the apparent distraction outside, she noisily rolled the tub on its side toward the windows. When it was butted up against the wall, she gave it another push so that it plopped onto its face. Clambering up on top of it, she was delighted to find that she could now easily reach the windows.

As she tried to hoist her body up and was met with a protesting ache in her arms, Rin became aware of how quickly her renewed strength was fading. But this was no time to give up. She forced her arms to lift her body up, pushing her feet against the tub with a little jump to boost her. Turning her head sideways, she was able to squeeze it through the narrow window. The cold night air immediately clung to her damp hair, sending a chill down her spine. She pulled one arm out and then the other until she hung from her armpits, scraping her feet against the wall inside to try and get the rest of her out.

All of a sudden a figure with long white hair soared into her field of vision. He was far above the mansion, and slightly obscured between the tree branches winding between the buildings. Even though she knew she might risk her hard won position, Rin called out: "Lord Sesshomaru!"

The figure twisted in the air, and Rin could see the enormous sword he held with one hand. A familiar voice cried, "WIND SCAR!" and bright lines of yellow power blasted toward a pursuing shape, this one recognizably Rikuto.

Rin's mouth dropped open a little bit as both figures moved on, quickly descending out of her sight. It was not Lord Sesshomaru that had come to her rescue; it was Inuyasha... Words entered her mind uninvited: He didn't come for me... After a moment she shook her head, chastising herself for feeling disappointed. She was grateful that Inuyasha cared so much about her that he would go to such lengths to bring her home. And if she could escape with him without Lord Sesshomaru ever appearing here, then all the better.

Rin went back to scrambling through the window until she wriggled all the way through and hung from her hands on the other side. Letting go slowly, she slid down the side of the building until she tumbled into the cold dirt below.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Luckily for Inuyasha, Rikuto underestimated the half demon's determination. Before the barrage of rocks and compacted dirt could collide with his ensnared body, Inuyasha yanked his left arm free with a brute forced renewed by the confirmation that Rin was nearby. In this way he slashed the rest of his bonds and just missed the impact of the pieces of earth as they smashed together in the place he had been. Instead he hopped nimbly up the stationary branches, gaining a nice gaugeable distance between himself and Rikuto.

The other demon frowned up at him, seeming perturbed, but unconcerned. "I see the dog has sharp claws," he commented.

"You bet," Inuyasha growled, bracing his feet on a tree branch and gripping Tetsusaiga with both hands. "And you're about to get the fangs." He felt the wind rise up around him as he prepared to let loose his signature attack.

He saw Rikuto's sneer deepen as he started to wave his staff, but Inuyasha stubbornly slammed his sword down in front of him anyway, hoping to be quick enough. "Wind Scar!"

Not too surprisingly, when the yellow light from his attack faded, his opponent had already floated well out of range on his slab of earth. Many of the tree branches were now crumbling. This made Inuyasha's footing precarious, and so he jumped downward, making his way toward solid ground.

As soon as his bare feet touched the dirt, the world trembled around him. Not only was the earth quaking ominously, but roots from the trees all around him struggled to liberate themselves from the soil. Inuyasha growled in frustration. "Dammit, what is this? Last time we met he could only move the dirt!" The half demon was fairly certain that if Rikuto had been able to manipulate the trees before tonight, he would have done it. It would have made kidnapping Rin from the village even simpler, and he had only ever seemed interested in the goal, not the means it took to get there. So where and how had he acquired this new power? Once again Inuyasha wished for Miroku, or even Kagome, to do the thinking for him while he took care of the fighting. But no one was here to help in this battle, so he would have to make do.

First things first, he thought. I have to find a place to fight. With the entire forest— both ground and trees—as potential weapons for Rikuto, Inuyasha needed an alternative. He was at a disadvantage not being able to fly, or at least having a means to stay aloft like the demon he now faced. If only he had Kirara! He had not realized how dependent he had become on his friends. They just fought so well together, and it had been a while since he needed to slay such a powerful foe all on his own.

"Huh," Inuyasha grunted as tree roots whipped out of the dirt and branches reached down to try and snare him again. "Doesn't matter. I'll kill him anyway." With a great jump, he soared high above the trees once more. This temporary suspension was the closest he could get to the freedom from gravity his enemy enjoyed.

From this vantage point, the half demon could again see the rooftops of the vast mansion behind the wall. He also saw Rikuto, off to his left, swinging his staff above his head in a rapid circle. With a push off of one of the branches that stretched up to grab him, Inuyasha launched himself toward the demon city. No matter what Rikuto was planning to do now, Inuyasha had to have a solid footing in order to summon Tetsusaiga's most powerful attacks.

He landed heavily on the closest roof beyond the wall, displacing a few wooden shingles. He wondered if Rikuto would still attack him if doing so would also mean damaging the buildings. He did not have to wait long for an answer. As the demon nimbly maneuvered his staff in a rapid circle over his head, several rings of rock formed in the air around him. Each was several yards wide and spun in equally as rapid rotations so that Inuyasha was left looking at a virtual wall of quickening projectiles, just waiting to be released and cut him in half like dull razor blades.

A smile curled on his lips. "Fine by me," he said with a mischievous chuckle. "Try this on for size." Kneeling, he held Tetsusaiga out to his right side with both hands, and then shut his eyes to concentrate. He felt a pulse vibrate through the sword, and when he opened his eyes again, the blade had turned black.

With a deep breath and a mighty voice he cried out, "MEIDOU ZANGETSUHA!" and swung Tetsusaiga in an arc in front of him.

Dozens of crescent moon-shaped masses of darkness and starlight cut through the air like blades. Inuyasha had dared not use this form of the attack when he had fought Rikuto before, in the village. It was too destructive and unpredictable, and there had been too many humans nearby. But now, facing away from the mansion where Rin was being kept, he unleashed it into the night with full force. Each blade formed a path straight to the meidou. They sucked up many of the spinning rocks even as Rikuto sent them flying forward.

Inuyasha heard the demon give a pained cry, but did not have time to watch what happened. Rocks that escaped between the scattered facets of the meidou zangetsuha hurtled straight for the half demon with a vengeance. He jumped nimbly from the roof, twisting as the projectiles wizzed by his body and deflecting a few with Tetsusaiga. He was not quite quick enough to avoid them all, however. One stone the size of his head caught him roughly in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. As a result of the following unnatural lurch, another rock clipped his left shoulder. Inuyasha immediately felt the throbbing of pain and slickness of blood slowly oozing out of the wound.

Coughing and cursing, he again touched down on the roof. Ignoring his pain, he readied himself for attack or defense, whichever was required first. But Rikuto was not before him. Inuyasha looked around quickly, not wanting to be caught by surprise. His nose found the demon first. Following the scent with his eyes, he found Rikuto hunched over on the forest floor outside the wall, cradling the stump of his left arm.

The scent of the blood assaulted Inuyasha's senses. The earth demon had avoided being sucked entirely into the meidou, but had not been able to escape unscathed. He glared up at Inuyasha with such intensity that his irises glowed a demonic red. "You...your sword..." he rasped. His remaining blood-stained hand squeezed the rod of his staff, which had been dropped on the ground. Inuyasha watched with a growing scowl as specks of loose dirt began to fly up and attach themselves to the remainder of Rikuto's severed limb. Before his eyes, the arm was regrowing, albeit very slowly. Just what was this demon anyway?

Curse it all, Inuyasha thought. He hated fighting demons that could regenerate parts of themselves, like Naraku. They were troublesome, but it just meant that he was going to have to strike a more direct blow next time. He readied the meidou zangetsuha once more, letting his blade fade to black.

With a feral growl, Rikuto suddenly sank into the ground. Inuyasha started, losing concentration as he saw the displaced earth of the forest floor quickly reform over the spot where his opponent had just been. This was the same way he had abducted Rin a few days ago.

The half demon swore as the ground shook violently. Despite that he stood on the property of what he had assumed was Rikuto's allies, he found it incredibly hard to keep his balance. Distracted with not falling, he failed to notice the tree branches reaching for him until it was too late. They snatched him up faster than a frog eating a fly. They pulled at his limbs and tore at his clothes, steadily bringing him over the wall and away from the city. Inuyasha shouted his frustration. He summoned his strength and tried to pull free again. Some of the branches tore, but then more returned. He flailed Tetsusaiga, slicing what he could, but could not get coordinated enough to summon the wind scar.

"I'm getting damned tired of this!" he cried at his unseen enemy. If only he knew who was controlling the trees... It was then that he happened to be twisted in such a way that he got a clear view of the courtyard behind the wall. He could see a figure sitting in the middle of the open space waving his arms and wigging gnarled fingers as if he were manipulating threads. When he moved his arms left, Inuyasha was jerked the corresponding way. "So that's where you're hiding," the half demon sneered. If he could take out this joker, then Rikuto would be much easier to defeat.

But as if Rikuto suddenly knew what he was planning, the ground quaked with renewed vigor, sending waves up through the trees that shook Inuyasha up like a cup of incense sticks. The earth demon burst into sight in a geyser of dirt. His arm had already regrown down to the elbow, and his eyes still shone red. He flew toward Inuyasha head on, raising his staff back for a powerful swing.

It was only instinctual adrenalin that allowed the half demon to move his arm enough to get Tetsusaiga in front of him in time. The two weapons met with a metallic clang that must have echoed in the air for miles. Inuyasha felt the shock of the blow rattle his entire body. The rod and the blade trembled as they were held against each other for a moment, their owners testing one another's strength. His face just inches away from Inuyasha's, Rikuto snarled through clenched teeth. "Your fang may have some bite to it," he spat, "but all of your power is in your sword. Just what would happen if we took it away?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. Rikuto drew back his staff and then swept it before him repeatedly in several fierce blows. Each struck the sword a little harder. He's trying to separate me from Tetsusaiga! Inuyasha thought frantically. He was already losing blood from the wound on his arm. If he were to acquire more injuries—enough to where his life was truly in danger— without his weapon in hand, he knew full well what could happen. Although he doubted Rikuto knew it, the half demon ran the risk of temporarily becoming a full-blooded demon, at which time he would not be able to stop himself from killing senselessly, an atrocity that might very well include Rin if he came across her in that state.

Just then, for whatever reason, the branches holding him slackened just slightly, and Inuyasha seized the opportunity. He tore himself free just as he was starting to lose his grip on Tetsusaiga. Pushing his feet against Rikuto's shoulders for a boost, he soared upward. The trees quickly reached for him, but he hacked at them relentlessly with his enormous blade. As he spun around in midair and got a good view of the earth demon, the trees, and the mansion all below him, a sudden idea stuck him. He had a clear shot to the figure in the courtyard. Rikuto was no longer in the way. If he could just catch him by surprise...

With another push off the nearest branches, he launched back toward his adversary, roaring and raising Tetsusaiga back as if to continue dueling with their weapons as they had been. Then at the last second, he swung his sword to the right instead and cried, "Wind Scar!"

The five claw-like strings of power blasted straight for the courtyard. Inuyasha didn't see what happened after that. Unable to halt his momentum, he barreled head long into Rikuto, knocking the demon right off the floating rock under his feet. Flailing, Rikuto swore as they fell in a confusing jumble. He was not able to summon a new platform before they both tumbled onto the ground of the courtyard.

Fortunately, Rikuto landed first, breaking the half demon's fall. He then rolled away from him and jumped to his feet, readying himself for whatever may come next.

He was not quite prepared for what he saw. Demons swarmed everywhere. Like those he had seen patrolling the wall earlier, they looked like an odd cross between people and trees. Many carried spears, and a few bore large axes. They scrambled every which way, shouting in alarm. The Wind Scar had done its work. Inuyasha could see the lines of destruction leading from the crumbling section of wall, through the crevasses that stretched along the ground, and onto the damaged building behind it. A few demons seemed to have been caught in the blast as well. They staggered about, shrieking in pain as what looked and smelled like tree sap seeped from their wounds.

In the middle of it all sat a demon somewhat larger than the others, with a mossy beard that stretched down to his knees. He looked slightly ruffled, but held his ground sternly, despite the chaos going on around him. He fixed eyes sharp as a dagger squarely on Inuyasha. The other demons hurried to get in front of him, holding up their spears protectively.

A toothy sneer found the half demon's face. "So he's the boss, huh?"

Rikuto seemed to have the wind knocked out of him. He was still struggling to recover. Inuyasha took advantage of the time this awarded him. He held out Tetsusaiga with one hand towards the seated tree demon. "Are you the one controlling the trees?" he demanded loudly.

"And if I am?" the other replied in a deep, ancient-sounding voice.

"What have you done with Rin?"

"The child should be the least of your worries right now."

"Let her go or I will send you all straight to Hell!" As if in response to his claim, his powerful sword took on the black sheen of the meidou-zangetsuha. Ignoring the enraged cries of those around him, he dashed forward with inhuman speed, determined to reach the leader before anything else could hinder him.

But just as he achieved the perfect range and prepared let loose the fatal attack, he picked up on something that jolted all of his senses and made him pause mid-step. Rin's scent! he realized with an unsettling start. I can smell it! She's nearby! She was so nearby, in fact, that she could possibly be just behind any of the closest walls. The bastards! he thought furiously. They did that on purpose so that I couldn't attack them!

His hesitation cost him dearly. Not only were the demons swarming around him, tree branches bore down from above, and he could hear that Rikuto's gasping had stopped behind him. Without any other options, Inuyasha leaped high into the air once more. He just barely made it through the moving boughs. Rikuto was upon him without a moment to spare, more intense in his pursuit than ever.

The half demon growled back at him. "WIND SCAR!" he cried as he again tried to pin the elusive earth demon with a direct blow. He soared backwards through the night as Rikuto swung out of the way and then regained his position without losing any speed. Both were unaware that at that very moment Rin hung halfway out of a bathhouse window, watching them pass by.

There was just too much coming from too many directions. The trees at Inuyasha's back caught him first. They grabbed at his free arm, which jerked him to a stop. He fought his way free, but was snared again, and again after that, even as Rikuto brought stones up to pummel him. He blocked and dodged, and tried to fight back. He was slowly but surely being returned to the courtyard.

Once he was within reach, the tree demons launched their spears at him with relentless frequency. Just as Inuyasha avoided one, another grazed his knee. He parried two in rapid succession with Testsusaiga then whipped his sword downward to slice the vines curling around his ankle. His sword flashed back up just in time to catch another spear that would have taken out his eye, but as his view was momentarily obstructed, Rikuto dove for the opening. Suddenly the butt of the demon's staff knocked against Tetsusaiga's hilt in just the right way so that it threw the blade out of balance. Inuyasha would have recovered it quickly had there not been branches already in position to wrench the weapon out of his hands.

"NO!" he shouted, but it was too late. The moving trees quickly ensnared both he and Tetsusaiga, moving them several meters away from one another. The sword reversed its transformation, and the branches hugged the worn, ordinary-looking katana all the more to keep it from slipping.

He and the sword were jerked roughly down toward the ground. The oldest tree demon moved his arms methodically as Inuyasha struggled against his bonds. When he reached the courtyard floor, he was forced down to his knees and his hands were twisted painfully behind his back. The demon guards quickly surrounded him. Rikuto touched down and came to stand before him.

Inuyasha cursed them all profusely as vines tightened around his neck. His heart was pounding. It had been a long time since he had been in a scrape this bad, and even longer since he had been forced to overcome it alone. He was severely outnumbered, parted from Tetsusaiga, and blackmailed by Rin's close proximity.

Rikuto's arm had completely regrown. With his regenerated hand he grabbed a spear from the nearest tree demon. "You have been more trouble than you're worth, half demon," he spat bitterly. He raised back the spear so that its sharp blade was poised directly over Inuyasha's chest. "You die here."

That was when time seemed to freeze for Inuyasha. His nose brought him a familiar scent, and suddenly he knew what was about to happen.

"BAKUSAIGA!"

The voice rang clear and powerful. Then a split second later it was swallowed up by the sound of wood splintering in a thousand different places. The branches holding Inuyasha went slack as wood and leaves exploded into the air in rapidly approaching succession to his left. As demons panicked and screamed, caught in the continuing blast, Inuyasha made his escape. He pushed off the ground just in time to avoid the progressive onslaught. He alighted once more on the roof of the nearest building that was as of yet undamaged.

"Damn it all Sesshomaru!" he shouted. "Watch where you're aiming that thing! I'll bet you wanted to take me out with them!"

As dust cleared and leaves fluttered back down to the earth, the expected figure appeared floating in the moonlight. Sesshomaru had Bakusaiga at the ready, a faint green light coursing across the blade. As always, he looked to be in no trifling mood, but this time his demeanor was even more severe. He ignored Inuyasha completely.

The wave of Bakusaiga's power had traveled through everything living that it touched, both plant and demon, but had dissipated when it reached the structure of the buildings. Many demons lay dead, but some had been fortunate enough to avoid the effected branches as they rained down from above. Inuyasha could see that the demon leader seemed to be one of the lucky ones, although most of his guard lay motionless around him. "Rikuto..." he rumbled, eyes on Sesshomaru.

Rikuto emerged from the wreckage with dirt cascading down all around him, leading Inuyasha to believe that he had probably hidden underground once again. He shot up into the air until he was level with Sesshomaru.

"So you're the daiyoukai?" the earth demon shouted. "A bit disappointing. You may not be a mixed breed mutt like that half demon, but I can tell you're still just a dog."

"Who are you calling mutt?" Inuyasha bellowed at his back. Rikuto did not turn around to acknowledge him.

Sesshomaru gazed intently at the demon in front of him, slowly bringing his sword up to point directly at him. "Her scent...is all over you," Inuyasha's half-brother said weightily. He clenched the handle of Bakusaiga with quiet fierceness as he added, "Including the scent of her blood."

Rikuto's face broke into a smile. "Good, I have your attention. That will make it easier to kill you, and then I can collect my reward." He wasted no more time. In an instant he had an army of rocks floating around him.

"Now wait just a minute Rikuto!" Inuyasha called indignantly. "We have unfinished business!" He meant it too. Inuyasha did not take defeat easily, and for all he had been put through, he intended to make sure Rikuto was felled by his own hand.

The half demon quickly leapt back down into the courtyard. As sounds of battle erupted above him, he searched frantically for Tetsusaiga. After he caught sight of its dented blade among the ruined trees, he shoved a wounded demon out of the way to retrieve it. The weapon immediately transformed to its true state of magnificence in its owner's grip. Just as he was about to jump back up and join the fight, he heard something that for a moment sounded completely out of place.

It was the scream of a little girl. Inuyasha hastily glanced back over his shoulder. He could only blink for a moment as he took in what he saw. Some ways behind him, over the main part of the mansion, several objects darted about in the air that looked like disjointed human heads. Specifically female, their black hair streamed out like flags as they whipped back and forth. They were melon-sized, devoid of neck or body, and their faces held expressions of wicked glee. Every single one of them flitted like a flock of birds around the prey that the one in the center of the group gripped in its teeth. Being carried off by these monstrous beings was the shape of a human child.

Inuyasha gasped. "Rin!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

As soon as Rin hit the ground outside the bathhouse, she began shivering. The ground was frigid on her bare feet, and having wet hair and damp clothes didn't help matters. She breathed a sigh into the autumn night as she hugged her arms. There was no time to waste. She needed to reach Inuyasha. Moving around would help her warm up anyway.

Rin picked her way through the darkness, using the wall of the mansion as a guide to keep from tripping. All kinds of sounds echoed around her, bouncing off the buildings and trees like hollow shells. She had heard the sounds of battle from inside the bathhouse, but now they were louder and more eerie. Demons cried out in pain and alarm, metal clanged, and the noise of creaking branches and rustling leaves came from every direction, as if the trees themselves had joined the fray.

Because of the echoing effect, it was difficult to tell the source of the commotion. Rin was not sure if she should seek out the scene of the battle, because that's where Inuyasha was sure to be, or if she should head away from it and find shelter. _The most important thing is that I stay out of sight,_ she decided. As long as she was not where her captors expected her to be, she had the advantage. _Maybe I should hide and wait for Inuyasha to find me..._

The more she thought about it, the more this seemed like the best idea. She was good at hiding in small places and staying quiet. She had had lots of practice at this before Lord Sesshomaru rescued her from wolves and took her traveling with him. She just needed to locate some neglected alcove or tiny hole in the wall.

This was no easy task with the moon as her only illumination. Rin felt around in the dark for a few moments. There was plenty of room underneath the mansion, as the entire structure was on stilts, but she hated to think of what kind of creatures might be lurking under there, especially on a demon's property.

Just then she heard a terrible screech coming from the direction she had just vacated. It sounded partly like a woman and partly like a bird of prey. "She's gone!" a voice screamed angrily. "Find the child! Now!"

Rin panicked. The _nukekubi_ had discovered her absence! Without any other options, Rin dove under the building. She blindly scurried several paces in the dirt and then turned around to face the opening. Her heartbeat pounded loudly in her ears. She wondered if this was what a squirrel felt like when it curled up in its tree burrow, hoping that the owl would not find it. She heard countless feminine voices raise the alarm. She waited for several minutes, expecting to see the bottom of their kimonos as they walked by her hiding place. But instead all she saw was strange shadows darting by on the ground, as if something was flying by instead of running.

Rin shut her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. To keep from giving in to her fear, she tried to imagine Lord Sesshomaru. His regal face, the gentle way he looked at her, his reassuring presence. She did not succeed for long. The growling and screeching of the objects that flew by became increasingly louder. Finally a dark shape dipped down into her view. Rin's breath caught in her throat. She was looking at a floating, disembodied human head. It had a pale face and trailing black hair that dragged the ground behind it. When its eyes shifted to her she saw that they shone red. Its mouth broke into a wicked smile that revealed many pointed teeth.

The head let out a gleeful scream as it lunged under the building toward her and Rin hardly realized that she was screaming as well. She scrambled around in the dirt, trying desperately to crawl away, but the monstrosity was faster. She felt a set of knife-like teeth close around the flesh of her ankle. Her entire body jerked with the pain. With her foot securely clamped, it pulled her back out into the open. Rin dragged her fingernails in the mud, wailing all the way.

When she was fully back outside, two more bobbing heads came to drift around her like vultures. The head that had her in its mouth let go so that it could chatter at the others. "Minnnne!" it hissed. "Sssstay away!" As they bickered, Rin realized in despair that her ankle would now be too damaged to support her weight; she could not run away, even if she tried.

Just then she caught sight of a person standing some meters away and watching her. It was Akane, the _nukekubi_ that had threatened her while in the bathhouse earlier, who seemed to be the female demons' leader. The scarf she normally wore around her neck suddenly fell away. With a gasp Rin understood why they had always worn something to cover their necks before. Akane's neck was unnaturally thin, holding up her head like dango on a stick. It was gruesome to behold, but even more repulsive was what happened next. Rin watched as the demon's head popped straight off of her body of its own accord. It jerked upward and commenced to fly off while her body sat down patiently to wait for its return. Like the other floating heads, her mouth stretched out wide, displaying her fang-like teeth. "All of you back away!" she ordered as she approached, hair billowing in her wake. "You know how Lord Mikio will punish us!"

But the _nukekubi_ head that had dragged Rin out of hiding licked the blood on its teeth lustily. "No!" it growled. "She'sssss minnne!" It hastily took hold of Rin by gathering up a mouthful of the clothes around her middle. With an "oof" she was hoisted into the air from the back. She could only hang helplessly as the ground grew rapidly distant.

At least a dozen heads came chasing after her, all shrieking with hunger and ignoring Akane's repeated objections. One of them flashed by and bit at her right arm, tearing the skin. Another tried to grab her by the leg but missed and instead grazed her knee. Like fish in a feeding frenzy, the demons swarmed around her, sinking their teeth into her flesh in quick bursts. "Stop it!" Rin cried as tears filled her eyes. "Please!"

Her blood rained down on the earth below. The _nukekubi_ only seemed to become more vicious, competing with each other for a taste. Finally even Akane joined the fray, possibly unable to resist the smell of blood any longer. Instead of pushing her way through the other demons, Rin caught a glimpse of her swooping around behind the victim. It was then that the back of Rin's neck received a shock of pain that rivaled the cuts given to her by Kirara. She clearly felt two rows of teeth piece straight through skin and muscle. She convulsed involuntarily and let loose a trilling scream. Her vision began to dissipate into flashing spots.

Faintly, she thought she heard someone call her name. Suddenly the _nukekubi _carrying her stopped moving. It seemed that the others ceased their attacks as well, but her body throbbed in so much pain already that it was difficult to be sure. A few of them growled and then sat silent for a few seconds. Then Rin very clearly heard, "Get your filthy heads away from her!"

A few of the _nukekubi _shrieked and fled. The others continued to jerk her around defiantly, and all was very confusing for a moment until suddenly Rin felt the demon holding her let go. She fell freely through the air, weakly flailing. In her limited range of view, she saw clawed hands appear beneath her. Her first thought was once again, _Lord Sesshomaru...? _Before she hit the ground, she was quickly wrapped up in some one's arms. They landed roughly, and Rin was left to hang limply in their grasp.

"Rin! Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

She looked up at her rescuers face with hazy eyes. _No...it's Inuyasha. _She rested her head gratefully against his chest and passed into an uneasy oblivion.

As soon as Inuyasha got a good look at Rin, he knew she was in bad shape. Really bad shape. On several places along her limbs, skin hung off in flaps, and other places sported deep cone-shaped gouges. She was losing blood much to quickly for a human. Those stupid things had really torn her up.

Inuyasha had never actually held Rin in his arms before, but now that he did, he was astonished at how little she weighed, even for her young age. To him it was like holding a delicate feather. Then he remembered that is must have been a few days since she had last had a decent meal. He seriously doubted her captors had done anything to take care of her physical needs. Her face looked gaunt and pale, and her body was much colder than it should have been.

"Those damn bastards," he growled spitefully. "They'll pay for this..." His own defensiveness surprised him. He had felt this way about Kagome's safety often in the past, and on occasion Miroku and Sango as well, but only now was it starting to hit him just how much he had come to care for Rin as family.

The floating heads had scattered in surprise at Inuyasha's arrival, but he noticed that now they were regrouping overhead. One of them shrieked decisively and lunged downward toward him and Rin. The half demon welcomed the chance to release some of his anger. Holding Rin's battered form as close as he dared, he jumped up to meet the demon head in the air. With a cry of "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" the head was reduced to shreds beneath his raking claws. It gurgled in despair as it fell to pieces.

The others screamed fearfully and fled in earnest. Inuyasha dispatched two more of them before they could escape, but the others disappeared inside the mansion proper, perhaps to go reconnect with their bodies. In his rage, he briefly considered chasing them down, but was brought back to his senses when Rin groaned in his arms. He stood still and examined her. Her eyelids fluttered, but then stayed closed. She whined pitifully before falling silent again. Her body temperature continued to drop, and her blood still flowed freely in many places. When he listened, Inuyasha could hear that her her heart rate was slowing.

As quickly and carefully as he could, the half demon lowered Rin to the ground and then hastily removed the top part of his red hakama. He gingerly folded it around her body. He tried to wrap up as many of the wounds as he could in the voluminous sleeves, hoping to both stem the blood flow and warm her.

After that he paused. He was unsure what exactly to do now. He did not have Kaede's medical knowledge nor any of the materials that would be needed. Having passed no human villages on the way here, the only thing he could think of was to carry Rin back home for treatment. But that was a very long way. Inuyasha was already sleep-deprived; he would never be able to get her there quickly enough without Kirara to ride on.

He glanced back over his shoulder in the direction he had left Sesshomaru and Rikuto. As much as Inuyasha hated to admit it, his half-brother would probably be able to transport her much more swiftly. But first things first: Sesshomaru would want to know that Rin had been found alive. Inuyasha gathered her up in a careful bundle and ran back the way he had come.

***Author's Note: Short chapter this time! I was going to continue into Sesshomaru's fight scene, but then I realized that that would probably make the chapter very long, and I expect it to take a little while to figure out exactly how to write that part with all the awesomeness it deserves. Thank you for reading so far and I appreciate the comments!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

As Sesshomaru had flown across the wilderness following the faint but nonetheless traceable scent of Rin's blood, his anger began winding up like a rope on a pulley. It coiled up inside of him, a dull pressure inside his chest. He caught traces of Inuyasha's scent too, which confirmed he was traveling in the right direction. He knew he was getting close when her blood started to smell fresher and more frequent. Sesshomaru gripped Bakusaiga's handle as he flew, ready to draw it at any moment if necessary. Whoever was responsible for spilling her blood-whether it was this "Rikuto" that both the demons in the forest and Sango had described, or anyone else-they would be shown no mercy.

It was deep into the night by the time Sesshomaru finally broke onto the scene. He could make out a city up ahead, hidden well in between the trees. It was practically dripping with demonic energy. He concentrated on sorting through the many scents coming from that direction until he found the one he was looking for. _She's there!_ he thought with increased determination. She had been brought there alive several hours prior, but he could not tell much after that.

As he flew closer, he noticed something odd. Many of the trees surrounding the city were strangely mobile. There was not any wind strong enough that it should be affecting them so. Not only that, but they all stretched inward to the back portion of the city, converging on what appeared to be an empty space in front of a vast grouping of buildings. Demons swarmed in that space like ants around a dead animal. Sesshomaru was intrigued by their scent. While definitely demonic, they also smelled...fresh. Like part of the forest itself. He hesitated only long enough to confirm that Rin was nearby, but not immediately present.

Shifting into a sharp dive, Sesshomaru unsheathed his blade and swiped the air before him. Power erupted in a wide, expanding arc that caused exponential explosions as soon as it touched the first tree branches lining the courtyard.

"BAKUSAIGA!"

Yes, he knew Inuyasha was down there too. But if that half-breed wasn't smart enough to avoid being killed, then it was his own problem. The trees cracked in snaking lines starting from one point and then rapidly spreading to the whole plant until every branch and leaf was ripped apart. Splintered wood littered the air. Demons' cries soon followed. If they had been unfortunate enough to be touching the part of a tree that Bakusaiga's power was flowing through, then it entered them as well, rupturing their bodies in a progressive line.

Sesshomaru came to a stop some meters above the courtyard and waited for the dust to clear so that a leader of this group would become apparent. As expected, Inuyasha had avoided the deadly blow. He appeared on a nearby rooftop, griping loudly at his half-brother. Sesshomaru paid him no mind, focusing instead on the demon that had just emerged from underneath the ground. He was dressed in leather armor, and wielded a long staff with elaborate decorations at its head. He suddenly shot up into the air, and Sesshomaru realized that he was standing on a compacted section of dirt that seemed to be floating of its own accord. He remembered Sango's description of a demon that had the power to create earthquakes, and had little doubt that this was the one.

"So you're the _daiyoukai_?" Rikuto shouted. "A bit disappointing. You may not be a mixed breed mutt like that half demon, but I can tell you're still just a dog."

Inuyasha complained noisily from behind him, but no one listened. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the many smells that came off of the demon. The one he was looking for was inescapably strong. He pointed Bakusaiga directly at him. "Her scent...is all over you. Including the scent of her blood." He could not have put more venom in his words if he tried, but still his opponent seemed not to care. He actually smiled in anticipation.

"Good, I have your attention," Rikuto said. "That will make it easier to kill you, and then I can collect my reward." He waved his staff in a circle to his side, and all of a sudden hundreds of fist to head-sized rocks shot up to pose in a ring around him.

Shesshomaru's frown deepened. _Does he think me so easy to defeat?_ he thought.

In the blink of an eye, he zipped up in the air and then whipped to one side, then the other, so quickly that Rikuto could not see where to aim his meager projectiles. The demon tried to follow him with his eyes, but was too slow. This would be over quickly. He raised Bakusaiga back for another fatal blow.

In a split second, he registered the tree branches moving unnaturally fast behind him. He turned around in enough time to see them coming from everywhere, far too numerous to count. As they were the most immediate threat, Sesshomaru instead released his power onto them.

"Bakusaiga!"

Sesshomaru did not stay to watch the effect up close. He escaped some distance up high to view the devastation from there. The trees writhed as their branches and trunks split apart, sending wood chips hurtling through the air like shards of broken glass. Rikuto was quickly lost from sight in the confusion of debris.

It seemed that every tree that touched the first one, whether by contact with the convulsing boughs or leaking down into intertwining roots, was similarly affected. Sesshomaru watched as tree after tree exploded in rapid succession, finally reaching the coniferous giants that formed the outer wall of the demon city. As their barrier fell, the demons inside cried out in utter terror and raced for the shelter of the buildings that still stood undamaged. Some did not make it, crushed beneath the biggest of the falling fragments. Sesshomaru watched with satisfaction as Rin's offenders fell into chaos.

When at last the explosions died down, leaving a significant swatch of the forest a broken mess, one of the demons, the largest one Sesshomaru had noticed so far, could be seen just outside one of the buildings, leaning on a broken post for support. "Rikuto!" he called in a powerful voice. "Destroy him and you shall have triple your reward! Do not fail me!"

Suddenly something moved in the darkness. Just becoming visible among the raining shower of leaves was an object that appeared to be a large ball of floating dirt. When the soil broke apart, Rikuto emerged, completely unharmed. This caused Sesshomaru to pause. The demon was right in the middle of where Bakusaiga's attack was strongest. He should have been hit by numerous affected branches and debris. And yet here he was, still in one piece.

Sesshomaru watched with narrowed eyes as the ground beneath them shook violently. A huge cone of dirt and rock dislodged itself from the ground near the ruined wall and hurtled toward the _daiyoukai_ as if shot from a cannon. Just to confirm what he was quickly realizing must be true, he gave Bakusaiga one more powerful swing. The deadly demonic energy hit the object—and then dissipated into nothing. Sesshomaru was forced to retreat quickly to one side to avoid being struck.

He took a second to clench the sword's handle. This was the first time Bakusaiga had ever failed him. But he now understood why it had. In the past, he had only ever used this weapon on living things. But the dirt was not alive. Nor were the buildings, which had only been damaged by the falling branches, not Bakusaiga directly. The trees, the demons—anything that had life flowing through it—was no match for the mere touch of Bakusaiga. But Rikuto was able to cover himself with a thick layer of non-living earth, and thus avoid a power that would otherwise obliterate him.

When Sesshomaru had more time, he was going to have to brood over the fact that all of his strongest abilities had to do with life. First with Tenseiga, which could restore lost life, and now with Bakusaiga, the destroyer of the living. Why was his legacy always tied so securely to the manipulation of life and death? It was not a power of his choosing.

With decisive precision, he sheathed Bakusaiga. There was no time to mull over it now. If he was too late in getting to Rin, then Tenseiga would not be able to bring her back again. This battle would have to be won without use of his weapons. _But Bakusaiga is not my only power,_ he thought, drawing back his right hand with two fingers extended.

More boulders were already headed his way. Sesshomaru swept his arm back out before him, leaving a trail of green demonic energy from his fingers. With a few lightning quick slashes, his Poison Whip formed a knife-like net in front of him that sliced the rocks to pieces long before they could reach him. He did not wait for Rikuto to retaliate. In a burst of speed he dove down toward his opponent, poisonous claws leading.

Rikuto jerked in surprise when suddenly a hand closed around his throat and skin began to sizzle at the touch. Sesshomaru would have ended it then and there had a huge spike not exploded out of the ground right where he stood, forcing him to lift back into the air several feet. The earth demon may not have been able to move very quickly, but his reflexes at least were sharp. Sesshomaru watched as he rubbed his raw neck, glaring up at the _daiyoukai._ With a growl he thrust both arms upward, staff leading. Thousands upon thousands of pebble-sized rocks littered the sky, hurtling for Sesshomaru like bullets. Rikuto knew, as did Sesshomaru, that weapons this size would be too small and too numerous to avoid.

And so he did not try to avoid them. They converged on him from everywhere, but Sesshomaru simply held up one arm before his face and barreled through them. Heedless of the sharp pin pricks pummeling him from every side, he again lunged at his enemy. Poison filled his claws once more. This time he slashed powerfully. Flesh tore beneath his fingers before he was repelled.

All of the pebbles clattered harmlessly to the ground as Rikuto cried out in pain. Sesshomaru wrinkled his nose at the smell of blood on his fingertips. He looked back to see the earth demon hunched over as blood poured from his middle. He sank to his knees, coughing and gasping.

_All too simple,_ Sesshomaru thought. This demon that had overpowered Inuyasha and his friends was of course no match for him. He touched down on the uneven ground. He had no more minutes to waste on this pathetic upstart. Rin's scent was maddeningly close, and he was beginning to feel a horrible tug on his heart warning him that he was running out of time. He reached for Bakusaiga. This ended now.

Rikuto still held his staff upright with one trembling hand. Suddenly his grip tightened firmly. Sesshomaru paused and narrowed his eyes. Hundreds of flecks of dirt raised up from the forest floor and surged for the gap in Rikuto's torso.

_Regeneration,_ Sesshomaru realized. He then looked to the ornate wooden staff. _All of his abilities come from his weapon._ He but needed to take it, and then this demon would be powerless before him. Instead of drawing Bakusaiga, he again brought his hand back to summon his Poison Whip. With one good stroke, he would be able to wrap it around the rod and snatch it away.

Just then, Rikuto's head shot up. He glared at Sesshomaru with glowing red eyes for a split second as he could feel the demon's aura swell like a flash flood. Then the earth came alive. All around the _daiyoukai_ boulders and rocks of all sizes rose into place and began to spin rapidly. They moved so fast that they formed a wind funnel around where he stood, a virtual tornado of destruction daring him to move beyond it. Sesshomaru frowned, annoyed only by the delay this would cause him. He jumped into the air. Like all funnels, there was a wide opening at the top plenty large enough for him to slip through. But as he neared it, the light of the moon was blacked out by the largest section of earth he had seen yet. It stayed stationary in the air, sufficiently blocking his escape.

The wall of swirling wind began to close in on him. The smallest debris reached him first, clipping his skin in many places. His Whip slashed at the object blocking his path, meaning to slice it to pieces as he had with the smaller rocks before. But the strength of the wind overpowered his aim. Sesshomaru paused in the air for a moment, quickly considering his options.

As he was trying to decide whether or not he should try to push his way through the wall of churning earth or see if he could dislodge the rock above him with his strength alone, he caught a sound he did not expect.

"Sesshomaru! _Sesshomaru!_"

It was Inuyasha's voice. Only a demon with his heightened senses could have heard it over the roaring of the wind. He ordinarily would have ignored any words coming out of his half-brother's mouth, but his tone held such an air of desperation that it sparked his interest enough to search his limited field of vision for him. Through the confusion of flying fragments, he finally made out the bright red form of the half demon atop the mansion's roof. In one hand he held Tetsusaiga in its true form. His other arm cradled something against his chest. Something wrapped up in the jacket of his robe of the firerat. When Sesshomaru saw the black hair sticking out near the top of the bundled form, his heart began to pound furiously in his chest.

_Rin!_ Even though the wind funnel threw off whatever scents reached Sesshomaru, quickly mingling with the overwhelming smell of dirt was the scent of her blood. She lay limp in Inuyasha's grasp. He could not tell if she was alive or dead.

It was then that Sesshomaru's control on his anger snapped clean in two. Rin had been brought to the brink of death. And these demons to blame. These were the last rational thoughts that crossed his mind.

All turned red before him. Sesshomaru felt his face shift into a muzzle as his mouth stretched out wide. His body enlarged rapidly and his hands and feet became giant paws. His true demonic form, that of an enormous white dog, shouldered through the whirlwind with ease. His large corded muscles and thick fur repelled the flying boulders like pebbles.

He relished the look of shock plastered on Rikuto's face. Now Sesshomaru would show him who he was really dealing with. The earth demon stood dumbfounded for a moment, staring at the beast he had unleashed, before coming to his senses and leaping back several paces. He wildly waved his staff, sending slabs of earth larger than a human man hurtling at Sesshomaru. But the great demon smashed each one with a wave of his head as he thundered across the ground toward his opponent. Rikuto hastily leapt into the air atop a platform in an attempt to escape.

He did not get far. Sesshomaru jumped after him, jaws snapping closed around Rikuto's staff-wielding arm. He tore it straight from his body, taking the weapon with him. The lesser demon gave a primal cry as he fell like dead weight back to the earth. Sesshomaru could taste the oozing blood on his tongue as the bones of the arm cracked between his teeth. The staff he shattered like a twig. He then spit it out as bitter demonic energy leaked from the now useless item. As the pieces fell from his mouth, he regarded the broken and heavily bleeding demon squirming before him. This was the villain who had kidnapped Rin for the sake of luring Sesshomaru here. He had spilled her blood, handed her over to a city full of demons that may have tortured her, and quite nearly killed her if she was not already dead. Even in his true form, Sesshomaru felt the same soul-gnawing despair take hold of him that had last attacked him in the _meidou _when he discovered that he could not revive Rin with Tenseiga a second time. _She can't be saved..._ Rikuto would be brought to justice.

With a roar more like a lion than a dog, Sesshomaru leaped upon his downed enemy and bit his head right off his shoulders. Unlike Naraku, this demon would not be regenerating after that. The scent of death immediately spewed from the body. Sesshomaru tossed the head behind him in disgust. But his rage was not quelled. Rin's offenders were still near. Fury and bloodlust were always amplified while he was in this form, and now was no exception.

Sprinting for the damaged demon mansion, he took hold of the nearest roof with his massive teeth and began ripping it apart. With claws and teeth, he tore the wooden building to shreds like paper. The demons inside scattered in a frenzied panic. He crunched through every tree demon in range, stifling their screams as sap dirtied the fur of his chin. Those out of reach of his jaws were smashed like insects beneath the weight of his paws.

_They must die. They must all die._ He crashed through room after room, never satisfying his need for destruction. Demons fled from him. Both tree demons and other, more humanoid female demons tried to escape, but very few did. Finally he unearthed the largest of the tree demons, the leader he had seen earlier. Backed against a wall, he glared up at Sesshomaru with absolute hatred. A few loyal servants had stayed by his side despite their fear. One of them bravely launched a spear up at the attacker and three more followed suit. Sesshomaru caught one of the weapons in his teeth and deflected two of the others with his snout. But the last one ricocheted off of his jawbone and implanted itself in his shoulder. He jerked as it pierced his flesh, but refused to be distracted by pain.

The largest tree demon motioned quickly with his arms, glancing at the tree branches that hung all around the walls. When nothing happened, a moment of recognition and horror passed over his aged face. Sesshomaru realized then that this must be the demon responsible for moving the trees earlier. But now all the trees were dead. Every living plant in the vicinity had been reduced to splinters by Bakusaiga. He did not give them time to think of another weapon. With a lunge forward, he crushed three of them in his mouth at once, including the demon leader. He made quick work of dismembering their disgusting bodies and then discarded them. The two remaining two demons slipped through the broken pieces of wall and ran for their lives.

Sesshomaru pursued them, smashing as much of the building as he could in the process. Any demon he found was promptly disposed of. _They hurt Rin. They will all die. None will leave this place alive..._

As soon as Inuyasha saw Sesshomaru transform, he couldn't help but mutter, "Aw crap." He hastily sheathed Tetsusaiga and hurried as far away from the battle scene as he could. Under normal circumstances, he would have stayed to help fight, regardless of whether his half-brother needed help or not, but at the moment protecting Rin was more important. And when Sesshomaru fell into a rage like this, he tended to think only of destruction.

Cradling the precious cargo, Inuyasha jumped between ruined trees like a flea between stocks of fur. Once he had finally reached the point where Bakusaiga's power had fizzled out and the forest was still somewhat intact, he came to a stop perched high upon a wide tree branch. From there he could see the huge white form of Sesshomaru gleaming in the moonlight as he thrashed around the demons' property, red eyes flashing.

Inuyasha knelt there for what seemed like a very long time, watching Sesshomaru destroy everything in his path. Surely Rikuto was dead by now. And he could not imagine that the rest of the demons had fared much better. But still the _daiyoukai _did not stop. Like a starving animal devouring a carcass, Sesshomaru continued to tear the town apart. Inuyasha had never seen him in such a fury before, not even on the various occasions in the past when he had tried to take Tetsusaiga.

Suddenly Inuyasha's eyes grew wide. "Crap," he repeated. _Sesshomaru must think Rin is dead! _ Earlier, upon finding his half-brother trapped inside a funnel of wind and soil, he had drawn his sword and called out to him to see if he might be able to help. At the very least, with Rikuto so distracted, Inuyasha thought he might finally have a clear shot at the earth demon. But what if Sesshomaru had seen Rin in his arms and assumed the worst?

Inuyasha's grip on Rin tightened slightly. Even through his hakama, he could feel her body temperature continue to drop. If her enemies were no longer a threat, then she did not need vengeance right now, she needed help. He had to let Sesshomaru know. With a powerful push of his legs, he launched from the tree and ran back through the ruined forest.

"Sesshomaru!" he called as he drew near. "Sesshomaru, Rin is alive! Do you hear me? Sesshomaru!" He had to shout several times before the giant dog finally stopped and turned to regard him, breathing heavily. Inuyasha came to rest on the ground just outside where the demons' wall had once been, looking up at the demonic face of his brother. "She's alive!" he said again. "And she needs help!"

At last, the message seemed to get through. Sesshomaru stood still for a moment, as if coming back to himself, and then his body began to change. Inuyasha lost sight of him as he shrank down behind the ruined buildings.

The half-demon breathed an exhausted sigh. Finally it was over. Rin was rescued. And yet still she may not survive. He cleared a spot for her on the ground with one foot and then carefully set her down. While he waited for Sesshomaru's approach, he considered what would be the best thing to do next. If she was to go on a long trip to get human medical attention without her wounds being properly treated first, she may die from blood loss alone. Her cuts needed to be washed and wrapped up, that much he knew. If Kagome or Kaede were here, they would have several more pointers, but he could at least do that much.

Inuyasha brushed damp black hair out of Rin's face. _And her curse still isn't lifted,_ he silently lamented, feeling anger boiling in his stomach again. "Hang in there, Rin," he softly said to the unconscious child. "We're going to get you through this, I promise."

***_Author's Note: Thank you for your patience everyone! I know I may have taken some liberties with the details of Bakusaiga's power, but all of its limitations are never fully explored in the manga, and this seemed to fit. And besides, Sesshomaru has to have some weaknesses, or else there would be no conflict, and with no conflict, there is no story. __ You also may be wondering why Sesshy didn't just transform in the first place, but think about it: in the anime/manga, how many times did he actually resort to that? Very, very few. Sesshomaru usually prefers to fight in his humanoid form, and only ever transforms as a last resort and/or when he gets very angry. I thought it fit with his character to try his other powers first before going all red-eyed. Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading so far! More to come soon..._


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Inuyasha tore another piece of cloth with his teeth and dunked it in the bucket of water beside him. Finding the fabric had not been too difficult; among the ruins of the mansion he discovered clothing that had probably belonged to those weird female demons with the detachable heads. He helped himself to it and then followed his nose to a well in the middle of the property that thankfully was only partially destroyed. With a bucket of water in hand, he returned to where he'd left Rin and Sesshomaru.

After unwrapping her from the confines of his red jacket, he began to work clumsily in the light of a campfire. He felt as though he was in a daze as he gently wound wet cloth around each injury he could see. He wished a hundred times over that Kagome was here to help him. He had no idea if he was wrapping anything too tight or not tight enough, or whether or not he should wash out the deepest punctures even though that actually made Rin bleed more, or if was a good sign that she kept whimpering in pain and yet not regaining consciousness. He at least remembered one tip Kagome had given him once when treating his wounds: in the places where flaps of skin were still connected, he gingerly pushed them back into place and bandaged it that way. Kagome had said that the skin would reattach itself over time or something to such effects, which for Inuyasha happened much quicker than it would for a normal human like Rin.

All the while Inuyasha worked, Sesshomaru stood nearby with his back to them. He flicked one hand back and forth in a near constant motion—and with each stroke a demon fell to his claws. Very soon after the destruction of Rikuto and the tree demon estate, lesser demons drawn by Rin's curse had taken advantage of her supposed vulnerability to make their move. They were the weak (and extremely unintelligent) kind that dissipated into pure demonic energy upon death, not even leaving a corpse behind. The seemingly mindless pests kept appearing despite their predecessors' destruction. Every now and then Sesshomaru would zip to a different side of the camp to dispose of one approaching from the opposite way, but he never turned his face to Rin or his half-brother.

Inuyasha was less than pleased to be playing doctor instead of protector in this situation, but at the same time he could sense the tension in Sesshomaru's movements. He highly suspected that the _daiyoukai's_ earlier rage had not quite yet subsided, and that killing things was a good way for him to vent it out, so he kept his mouth shut.

After Inuyasha had finally finished bandaging all the wounds he could see, he dabbed at the dried blood on Rin's chin. The deepest gashes he found had been on the back of her neck; the sight had made even him wince. It was the source of most of the blood coloring her shoulders and face. With the remaining pieces of demon clothing, he gently washed her skin to make sure there were not any other major cuts he had missed. As he did, there came a noticeable lull in the number of demons attacking. _Maybe their numbers are finally running thin in the area,_ Inuyasha thought. _It's only a matter of time before more come from farther away though._ He paused in his work. His bucket was now only a third the way full with bloodied water. He would need to refill it before much more could be done.

Inuyasha glanced at Sesshomaru's back. His half-brother stood perfectly still, staring into the night. As bizarre as it was to think about, it occurred to him that Sesshomaru might actually need a moment alone with Rin. He obviously cared deeply for her, but would probably rather die than exhibit such emotion in front of Inuyasha. It had been weeks since he had last visited her, and she had been cursed, kidnapped, ripped to shreds by demons, and now... _What if this is the last time he sees her before she dies?_

Inuyasha shook himself. He refused to entertain that possibility. "Oi, Sesshomaru," he said without fanfare, "I'm going to get some more water. Be right back."

Sesshomaru nodded his silver head curtly in response. Inuyasha gently scooted Rin a bit closer to the fire, hoping she could absorb the warmth. He then grabbed the bucket, dumped its contents in the grass nearby, and took off toward the mansion ruins in a great leap. Maybe while he was out he would find some stray demons that needed killing. Killing demons always helped settle his nerves...

Sesshomaru hardly noticed what he was doing as he slashed one demon after another. He reverted to a pure instinctual state, letting his senses tell him when and where an enemy approached. He thought that perhaps if he emptied himself of everything but the cold sensation of killing, he might be able to stave off the grief gnawing at every corner of his mind.

The smell of Rin's blood was so strong it sickened him. Even the bandages Inuyasha applied did little to cover up the scent. He would never be able to forget it.

Everything that had happened to Rin had happened because of him. Her abductions by Naraku, her death inside the _meidou_—everything that had led him to decide to leave her in Inuyasha's village. He remembered how she had protested and cried and begged to be taken with him when he first revealed his decision. And yet he had firmly believed he was doing what was best for her. If she could live among her own kind, and be far away from Sesshomaru, then she would be safest from harm.

Sesshomaru sliced an oncoming demon with particular vehemence. Apparently, this had not been true. Here it was three years later and his enemies still sought to get to him by using Rin. He clawed the head off of another demon. _She's in danger when she's with me_, he thought. _She's in danger when she's not with me_. _I should have done more to protect her. I never should have let her follow me in the first place._ Another demon was split in two by his Poison Whip. _She never should have helped me when she found me injured in that forest clearing so long ago._ Two demons were ripped apart simultaneously. _She never should have even met me!_

It took him a moment to realize that there were no more demons at hand. He stood still for several minutes, glaring at nothing. He was relieved when Inuyasha announced his intent to go for more water. He would never recover his pride if that half-demon found out how unraveled he was becoming on the inside.

For several minutes, all was quiet. Sesshomaru could not hear or smell the presence of any more attackers that were not a long way off. Then the faintest of sounds captured his full attention. It was a groan from Rin, but not quite like the ones that had escaped her while Inuyasha tended to her. This was more like a conscious moan followed by a short, ragged sigh. He glanced over his left shoulder. Rin's eyes fluttered open. She squinted in the harsh light of the fire and then turned her face away, groaning again.

Sesshomaru did not recall telling his feet to move. They just automatically took him to her side, where he knelt down and silently waited. Rin blinked several more times to clear her vision. Slowly, her brown eyes focused on his feet and then traveled up to his face. "Lord Sesshomaru?" she barely whispered.

Hearing her speak was like a pin prick in his chest. "Be still Rin," he said firmly. "You mustn't move yet."

Surprisingly, she gasped at the sound of his voice. "Lord..._Lord Sesshomaru!_" Before he could react, she sat up and lunged for him. Burying her face in his pant leg, she grasped the white cloth with little, bloody hands and immediately began to sob. "It's really you!" she cried. "I knew you would come for me! I just knew it!"

He was uncertain what to do. He knew that her moving and sitting up like that could undo all the care Inuyasha had just given her by reopening her wounds, but he did not have the heart to push her away either. She rested her forehead against his knee as she continued to cry, releasing all the stress and fear she had endured alone in the past few days. Sesshomaru found that he did not care at all that his clothes were being soaked by her tears. Then with a muffled voice she said something that caught him off guard: "I'm so glad! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Everything just seemed to stop around him. She was glad _he_ was okay?

"Those demons...they kept saying they were going to kill you! That they were going to use me to get you to come, and then kill you! I was so worried... I thought I'd never see you again. I'm so glad you're alive!"

Sesshomaru felt anger tightening his throat. How on earth could she find time to be worried about _him_ when it was her life that was in danger? Without consciously deciding to, he placed one hand atop her head. Didn't she know that he had been worried sick about her in the exact same way? He had no words. He wished he could kill those wretched demons again, this time slowly and painfully. There was no punishment too great for what they had done.

A few long minutes passed with just the sound of Rin's choking sobs and the crackling of the camp fire filling the night. Sesshomaru found his hand stroking her tangled black hair. Then suddenly she gasped again, as if just remembering something, and looked up at his face. "My Lord...you don't want to kill me?"

For the second time, surprise just made his thoughts go blank. "Why would you ask such a thing?" he asked in genuine confusion.

Rin sniffled and wiped the tears on her face, smearing blood across her cheeks. "My curse... Kagome said it makes demons want to kill me. Even strong demons, like Rikuto. I was afraid that when you found me...you might..."

His other hand clenched into a fist. The very idea that anything could _ever_ manipulate him into wanting to harm Rin was absurd. "A petty spell like that is beneath this Sesshomaru."

A small smile graced her face and she lowered her eyes. "Yes of course. I should have known..." All of a sudden a deep-chested cough racked her form. As she brought her hands up to her mouth, she let out a yelp of pain. She surveyed the bandages on her arms through bleary eyes as if just remembering her injuries. Then to Sesshomaru's horror her body jerked strangely and she just began to tremble uncontrollably. Appearing to lose her strength, she fell back against his leg. "Lord Sesshomaru, it hurts..." she mumbled weakly. "And it's so cold..."

Without a second thought, he scooped her into his arms. Her head rested against his shoulder furs and the rest of her body curled against his chest, completely limp. The only time he had held her like this before was when he had tried to rescue her from the master of the _meidou_. But it had been too late then. And now again he felt like he was holding her frail, dead body. _No._ He forced his senses to rise above his panic and focus on her breath, her heartbeat, her scent—all the signs that she was still alive.

Think. He had to think. In all his great power, there must be something Sesshomaru could do to keep one human from dying. As he knelt there cradling the unconscious Rin and desperately trying to decide what to do, he absently registered Inuyasha's scent approaching. _Inuyasha..._ All at once a realization struck him: Inuyasha was not affected by Rin's curse either. All of the demons she had come across, both very powerful and very weak, had been overcome by their desire to kill her. If it was a matter of demonic strength, then that half-breed should have been one of the first to fall under its influence. If it had been a matter of affection, then the demons she had befriended in her village should have been able to overcome it. There was only one other thing that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru shared: the blood of the Great Dog Demon.

Sesshomaru gritted his teeth, fighting against his fury to keep him from transforming again. He knew the origin of this curse. And how the perpetrator knew which child to target. This was betrayal of the acutest kind! Whoever in his clan was responsible for this would be forced on pain of death to undo it. And then they would feel the full extent of his wrath.

As Inuyasha walked up to the edge of the campsite, he paused. He saw Sesshomaru kneeling on the ground and supporting Rin in his arms. They were both so still and silent that for a second he was terrified that she may have already died. But there was no scent of death in the air—at least not yet.

Suddenly Sesshomaru stood straight up, Rin in tow. "I am taking Rin with me," he announced decisively. He did not turn to face Inuyasha when he spoke. His profile was silhouetted against the orange light of the campfire. "I know where to take her to lift her curse."

"You do?" Inuyasha answered in surprise. "Where?"

Naturally, his half-brother did not feel the need to respond. He turned on his heel and lifted up off the ground.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha called before he could fly off. The _daiyoukai_ glanced back his way with one impatient golden eye. Inuyasha fixed him with an intense expression. "You bring her home safe."

Sesshomaru looked away but did not turn his head so that his words could be clearly heard. "I will do whatever it takes to protect my daughter. No matter the cost." And with that he was gone like a breeze, rapidly vanishing into the night sky.

Inuyasha watched them go for a moment. While his worry for the girl had not really lessened, he knew she could not be in better hands. Crossing to the fire, he emptied the bucket of water he had retrieved on top of it so that the flames died with a hiss and smoke filled his nostrils. He then collected his red jacket and slung the bloody thing over one shoulder. Exhausted as he was, he could not rest yet. He was eager to get back to the village and make sure Kagome was doing all right. With a running start and a jump through the trees, he began his journey back home.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Sesshomaru soared high and swift through the crisp morning chill. A red dawn peaked over the horizon, lighting Rin's unconscious face a ghostly hue. She had not spoken and hardly moved since leaving their campsite outside of the tree demon's ruined village. Her life was fading. He could feel it slipping through his fingers like water. He cradled her body against his chest armor with one arm, and with the other he held out Bakusaiga.

The demons had not relented almost since he had taken to the sky. All the weak and pathetic demonic beings that could fly rose up to meet him when they sensed Rin's approach. Sesshomaru had no time to waste on them. He obliterated groups of the creatures at a time with a swing of his sword and then barreled through their evaporating remains without so much as a glance backward.

He was heading for a place that could only be found by smell. His father had disguised their ancestral property that way, and now his mother took full advantage of the secrecy, secluding herself not only from humans but most of the demon world as well. But Sesshomaru had become a more familiar sight there ever since leaving Rin in the human village. It was where he went to have clothes and other gifts made for her. The servants had always been obviously displeased to have their efforts wasted on a human recipient, but they were loyal to his ruling family, and did not complain in his presence. However, it seemed that one of them-and Sesshomaru did not know who-had not seen fit to leave it at that. Their audacity at attacking Rin made his blood boil. He would root them out like a weed. Of course he had considered the possibility that his mother might be the source, but as much as she was annoyed by her son's relationship with the human girl, she had never seemed to despise it to this extent. However, he would make sure that she helped him find the perpetrator. Of that he was certain.

About mid-morning he finally caught the scent that alerted him he was getting close. It was the scent of the dog demon clan, his mother in particular. As he approached the all but invisible barrier around the property, he sheathed Bakusaiga and wrapped his other arm around Rin as well so that she was completely covered in the fabric of his sleeves. Then without slowing he hurdled down into the barrier. It felt like diving through thick liquid. The demonic energy pulled at him, reducing the speed of his descent until he at last broke through and cratered down to the ground. He landed so roughly that the stone paving beneath his feet cracked. He usually made a more graceful entrance, but at the moment he just didn't care.

A nearby guard suddenly jumped at the sight of him and hurried over. Like all the vassals serving in defense of his clan's land, he wore leather armor and bore a long staff with a crescent moon-shaped blade at the top. "Lord Sesshomaru!" he exclaimed somewhat nervously. "We were not expecting you! How may I be of service to you?"

Sesshomaru took a cursory glance around. He had arrived near the entrance of the palace, at the top of a long stairway that led to the main courtyard of the palace. From here he could see the throne his mother liked to sit upon when she was entertaining (or more accurately, toying with) visitors. It was from here that she had summoned the hell hound that took Rin to the underworld on her first visit here. But now the throne was empty. "I demand my mother's presence. Now."

"Y-yes my lord," the servant replied with evident reluctance. His brown hair fluttered as he trotted off into the palace proper. As a low-ranking member of the dog demon tribe, he maintained the same pointed ears, claw-like fingernails, and long life span as his higher-born brethren, but the similarities ended there. He did not have the silver hair of his patron's family, nor their face and arm markings. Not to mention nowhere near the level of power.

Sesshomaru followed him only as far as the courtyard, where he waited for his mother with tangible impatience. He did not often encounter her on his trips here, and that was on purpose. Rarely did he feel the need to share words with her, but now that he did it was for something much more crucial than anything before, including information about Tenseiga. Luckily, he did not have to wait long. The lady mother appeared from inside the palace and approached him with a scowl on her face.

"Sesshomaru...I understand you _demand _my presence?" she asked sourly. "What is so important that you've come to see your dear mother about it? ...And what _is _that ungodly smell? You reek of human blood."

Without a word he lowered his right arm, uncovering Rin's still form.

His mother wrinkled her powdered nose in disgust. "What is that? I thought you didn't desire human blood anymore. Don't tell me you've changed your mind again. Not after all you've had us do for that human child of yours. ...Oh no. That's her, isn't it? If she's dead, you have no one to blame but yourself. I told you I couldn't bring her soul back from the _meidou_ a second time. You didn't have to drag her all the way here and stink up my palace just to hear that."

Sesshomaru gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his contempt in check. "She is not dead," he growled heavily, taking a quick mental check of the soft sound of her shallow breathing. "But she was cursed. By someone from _our_ clan."

At this news the lady mother raised her eyebrows with interest. "Oh? And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"For the past three days every demon that comes near her has had the uncontrollable desire to kill her; every demon except members of the Dog Demon Clan, including the half-breed Inuyasha." He did not need to explain any further. While Sesshomaru and his father were powerful in demonic energy and sword skills, his mother was more talented in the arcane arts. She would know precisely what the exclusion of a certain type of demon would mean.

Her frown returned. "Really." She was quiet for a moment, pursing her lips thoughtfully. Finally she said curtly, "Bring her here." She turned, pigtails curling in her wake, and strode over to her throne. She motioned for Sesshomaru to lay Rin down on the platform, much as he had when he brought her out of the meidou. He knelt down and gently let her body slide onto the wooden surface, trying not to aggravate any of her bandages. His mother then stepped forward and scanned over the girl with critical golden eyes. After a few seconds she held out one hand, palm facing downward, over Rin. The little human's body suddenly took on a faint purple glow. The Lady Mother slowly moved her hand from Rin's head down to her toes. Then finally the glowing ceased as she gave a quiet sigh and replaced her hands inside her sleeves.

"She is indeed cursed," she announced. "Although it doesn't take magical talent in order to see that." She glanced silently upward. Sesshomaru followed her gaze. Until that moment he had failed to notice the mass of demons hovering in the sky. They were trapped outside the palace's barrier, masking their scent and sound. As the same type of worthless creatures that had pursued Sesshomaru on his way here, they posed no threat. There was no way they could make it through the barrier. Still, the _daiyoukai_ narrowed his eyes and gripped Bakusaiga's hilt with one hand.

His mother went on, unperturbed, "Furthermore, the spell is set to expire over time." Sesshomaru looked back down at her quickly. Did that mean that Rin's curse would be lifted automatically? The other demon smiled wryly as she glimpsed him through half-closed eyes. "That is to say, it will expire her. If no demon can get to her first, then the curse will eventually devour her from the inside out."

Sesshomaru glared at her, despising her for playing with him even at a time like this.

She continued, "From the feel of it, I would say she doesn't have long left. Maybe a day at best."

Sesshomaru clenched and unclenched one fist, desperation gnawing at him ever more persistently. "What must be done?"

His mother remained silent for a few excruciatingly long seconds. "Usually a curse this complex is not something that can just be removed," she said at last. "At least not very easily. I have never worked with this spell before, however, so I cannot be sure. The only one who would know for certain is the demon who cast it." She paused and then said thoughtfully, "There are only three from our clan besides myself who have the skill to perform a spell of this caliber."

She then did something that caused Sesshomaru to flinch internally. She knelt down and pulled back one of the bandages on Rin's right arm, exposing a particularly deep cut. Almost immediately, blood seeped into the wound. The Lady Mother dipped one dainty fingertip into it and then replaced the cloth covering. She brought the red dew drop up beneath her nose and breathed deeply. There must have been something in that scent, some magical trace that even Sesshomaru was not practiced enough to detect. After inhaling twice more, her golden eyes snapped open. She briskly stood and called, "Sousuke!"

At once a guard appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He bowed low at the waist. "Yes My Lady?"

"Bring Captain Hisao to me at once."

The lesser demon hesitated. "Of course... However I am not certain he is on the property at the moment—"

"I said bring him to me!" Sesshomaru's mother barked with sudden vehemence. "I do not care what you have to do to retrieve him, just do it now!"

"Yes your ladyship," the guard replied quickly. He hastened away, disappearing around a corner as soon as he could.

With uncharacteristically sharp movements, the Lady Mother seated herself upon her large throne. "I don't know what your stake in this is Sesshomaru," she said in a dangerously quiet tone, "or what you hope to gain. And I could not care less whether that human whelp lives or dies today. But you have exposed a traitor in my household, and treachery is not tolerated."

Sesshomaru shared her sentiments at least as far as Hisao was concerned. But even more than vengeance, he wanted answers. He would not allow Rin to die, no matter what it took.

They waited in rigid silence for what seemed a very long time. His mother was usually much more talkative than he, but at times like this when her anger was aroused, she donned the same mask of calmness that Sesshomaru had come to perfect over the years. Each demon was a model of stillness, a frown frozen on their faces. But behind that exterior, ruthless fury raged, waiting patiently to be unleashed. It took all of Sesshomaru's will power to uphold it this time. He was keenly aware that every second they waited for Hisao to arrive drew Rin closer to her last breath.

At long last, the guard whom had been sent on the errand came back into view from deep inside the property. A second demon followed behind him.

Now that Sesshomaru got a look at him, he remembered who Hisao was. He did not recall having any contact with him in about the last 200 years, but he did know that this demon had been in service of his father for a least a century before his passing. He was the captain of the palace guard, and higher bred than any of his underlings. His hair was white, eyes gold, and while he lacked any markings on his face, he did have some on his wrists, which he displayed proudly by making sure that his sleeves tucked into his bracers instead of falling down to his hands. Like the other guards, he carried a tall scythe with a crescent moon-shaped blade.

As they approached, Sesshomaru watched him closely. When Hisao was close enough to the throne to see the small girl lying on the platform beside it, he made the tiniest of pauses in his steps. His expression remained passive, but even from here Sesshomaru could see a sort of twitch in his movements.

_He's the one!_ he thought as rage broiled inside him like a pot ready to overflow. He had not felt such intense hatred since before Naraku's death. Only years of practiced self-control stopped him from reverting to his true form and lunging for Hisao right then and there.

The captain came and bowed before the throne. "My Lady," he said calmly. "And Lord Sesshomaru, what an honor. Forgive my tardiness; I was on a patrol route when you summoned me."

"Hisao," Sesshomaru's mother said in a heavy tone. "You have served our clan for many years, and have obediently carried out my commands. ...It is of no concern of mine if you terminate a human occasionally. I don't even care why you do it. But this time, you overstepped the boundary." She gestured to the unconscious Rin. "You knew this one was significant to my son. This is an insult to my line directly."

Hisao looked up as if shocked. "My lady!" he exclaimed. "I would never do anything to disgrace—"

"Her blood has your scent!" she interrupted furiously, jamming her finger with the now-dried drop of blood into his face. "Did you think I wouldn't recognize traces of the magic _I _taught you to wield?"

The demon guard remained silent for a moment, clearly weighing his options. Sesshomaru kept one hand tight on Bakusaiga's handle, staring daggers at the traitor from behind.

Finally Hisao stood up straight. "Please understand," he said quietly. "I meant no insult. It was never meant to be traced back this far. She was supposed to have been killed quickly by another's hand, leaving no trace that our clan was involved."

That was all Sesshomaru needed to hear. He drew Bakusaiga and rested its point on Hisao's back, in-between his shoulder blades. "Tell me how to lift the curse," he demanded.

The guard glanced over his shoulder, an unsettling smirk twisting his lips. "And why would I do that _Lord_ Sesshomaru? Aren't you going to kill me either way?"

Sesshomaru pressed his sword harder into the other's back, piercing neatly through his chest plate. "You can die slowly, or you can die quickly. I would be satisfied with either outcome. The choice is yours."

Hisao closed his eyes and turned his face away, and for a moment Sesshomaru thought he was surrendering. But then with uncanny speed he whipped around and slashed his scythe at Sesshomaru's chest. For an untrained (or human) warrior that would have been a fatal blow, but Sesshomaru was not called a _daiyoukai _for no reason. With equal speed he brought Bakusaiga in front of him and knocked the scythe aside with the resounding clang of metal.

They both quickly jumped back several paces and glared at one another, weapons at the ready.

"You have lost yourself, Lord Sesshomaru," Hisao snarled bitterly. "Just like your father before you! I could not sit idly by while our clan fell into ruin!"

"Tell me how to lift Rin's curse," Sesshomaru repeated. Out of the corner of his eye he noted how pale and still the girl looked on her place upon the platform. He also saw his mother lean back in her throne and clasp her hands inside her sleeves. She might be content to sit and watch the entertainment unfold, but Sesshomaru knew time was short. "Tell me now."

In response, Hisao growled again and dashed forward. Sesshomaru matched his pace. Their weapons met in several rapid, precise blows. The lesser demon was surprisingly skilled at wielding such a long rod so quickly. On a different day, Sesshomaru might have enjoyed crossing blades with an opponent who may actually pose some competition, but today was not that day. He increased the strength behind each swing, forcing Hisao to adopt a defensive stance. But still the other kept up with apparent ease.

The combatants came to a pause as their weapons locked. "What's the matter Sesshomaru?" Hisao sneered, uncomfortably close to his face. "Why not use Bakusaiga to disintegrate me?"

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, but did not grace him with an answer.

"You won't kill me," Hisao went on. "You can't. I'm too valuable to you alive."

In response Sesshomaru let demonic energy flow into Bakusaiga so that the blade sputtered with green sparks. A surge of power burst forth, blowing Hisao clean off his feet. But after a moment the guard just picked himself up and laughed. "An empty blow. You won't use its full power. Not so long as the only hope of saving your precious little brat rests with me."

Sesshomaru was not fazed. "A traitor who is so clearly outmatched is in no position to bargain for his life."

"Oh, but I think I am. That human girl is out of options, and expiring fast. You kill me, and you ensure her death. Or we could strike a new deal. Grant me my freedom, and I will tell you how to save her."

In one brief moment, all the knowledge of what Rin had endured because of this demon before him flashed through his mind. Her forced attack from Kirara. Watching as her village crumbled around her at the hands of Rikuto. Her abduction and mistreatment. Her captivity at the tree demon palace. The life-threatening injuries she received there. All that time she spent scared and alone, waiting to be rescued. Sesshomaru's resolve swelled tenfold. "There will be no deal," he said venomously. "You will tell me what I need to know."

He did not give Hisao a chance to answer. He lunged for his enemy sword first. The guard captain met him head on. They each fought with skill honed over centuries of practice. But Sesshomaru had an advantage over Hisao now. He knew that he most important thing to the traitor was preserving his own life. He had gone to extraordinary lengths to try and ensure that Rin's death was never traced back to him. Actions that he perceived to be for the good of his clan may have driven him to create the curse in the first place, but now that his attempts at secrecy had failed, he was not willing to die for his cause. And a man like that only needed to be brought to the point of desperation before he would fall back to the only remaining option for saving his skin. Sesshomaru intended to use every tactic necessary to get him there.

He attacked Hisao from all sides, moving so quickly that he would only be perceived as a blur to an inexperienced eye. Bakusaiga was in constant motion. It struck from many different angles, but each time it was met by the rod of Hisao's scythe. The demon was able to spin his weapon around himself so swiftly in a propeller-like fashion that it formed a virtual shield through which a blade as thin as Bakusaiga could not hope to penetrate. Sesshomaru felt a small twitch of annoyance as he thought about how handy Tetsusaiga would be right about now, but he could not afford to dwell on that. Instead he adopted a different technique.

He shot up into the sky, swapping his sword to his left hand, and then slashed at Hisao from above with his Poison Whip. The bright green string of demonic energy caught in the demon's spinning scythe like a fishing line. The tangled mess disrupted his pattern, and the weapon was wrested from his hands. Sesshomaru lost control of it as well as his Poison Whip faded away, but he had no problem letting it go careening down the long staircase and out of sight.

Hisao merely glared up at him and then leaped in to the air. The only members of the dog demon clan that could fly were the Lady Mother and Sesshomaru himself, but Hisao and several other members were quite good at jumping great distances, much like Inuyasha. He came at Sesshomaru claws first. The _daiyoukai_ dodged to the side, and was mildly surprised that the blow actually only missed narrowly. Unlike the half-demon, Hisao's speed was still up to par with Sesshomaru's, even while jumping. But while gravity took him back toward the ground, Sesshomaru pushed forward. He swiped Bakusaiga across his enemy's defenseless back just before he reached the ground.

Hisao stifled a cry, spinning around as Sesshomaru touched down. His claws barely missed him once more. Instead of trying again however, he surprised Sesshomaru by turning and jumping for the closest rooftop. He did not stop there, but kept moving rapidly from roof to roof and tree to tree in an unreadable pattern. The _daiyoukai_ did not know what he was planning, as he did not appear to be making a great effort to escape altogether. But there was not time to dissect his reasoning, so Sesshomaru took off in pursuit of him.

He cursed his enemy for his damnable speed. Every time Sesshomaru caught up with him in one location, Hisao was suddenly somewhere else. He could never quite get close enough catch him with Bakusaiga. Frustrated, Sesshomaru put his sword away. He again brought two fingers up to his cheek and then lashed out with his Poison Whip. With its greater range, the attack clipped at Hisao's heels.

Unhindered despite the scratch, the demon kept up his chase. Sesshomaru slashed at him time and time again, relentlessly sending the slicing energy snapping out to the spot that Hisao appeared to be heading for. After several minutes of this, Hisao had finally obtained enough hits to leave a trail of blood flying in his wake. Then Sesshomaru scored a cut on his left shin so deep and precise that his opponent faltered at last. Hisao's body jerked as he landed on the ground just a short ways from the Lady Mother's platform. Sesshomaru saw his chance and took it. He whisked Bakusaiga back out of its sheath and bore down on Hisao from above, aiming for the area just to the right of his heart; a blow that would cause him excruciating pain, but not kill him. Not yet.

He could feel his blade tearing flesh as his feet made contact with the ground—and then a searing pain exploded in his gut. For just as Sesshomaru reached Hisao, the guard had spun around with a dagger in hand and planted it up to the hilt into Sesshomaru's middle.

For a moment both enemies froze, eyes locked in mutual surprise, their weapons stuck into each other as blood gushed out over their respective armor. Then they both jumped backward, taking the blades with them. Sesshomaru scowled, but would not give Hisao the satisfaction of seeing his pain. He stood up straight as ever, ignoring the red liquid gathering in a pool beneath his feet. So that was his plan all along. The random pursuit around the palace had been but a distraction for him to retrieve a hidden dagger from somewhere on his person so as to catch Sesshomaru off his guard. Hmph. He was a fool if he thought one dagger strike would be enough to kill this _daiyoukai_. He had certainly endured worse wounds than this before.

The same could not be said for Hisao, however. The many cuts he had received left him bent, clutching at his shoulder and breathing hard. He glared at Sesshomaru with fresh hatred. "Be careful _My Lord_," he rasped, adding particular vehemence to his words. "You wouldn't want to spill too much of your precious blood."

Suddenly Sesshomaru's mother, who had remained still as she silently observed them, lowered her hands on to her lap and hummed, "Ah..."

Hisao shot her a glance that Sesshomaru could not read. Then with reckless abandon he rushed at Sesshomaru once more, giving a primal cry and holding his dagger before him. But his speed was affected by his injuries. Sesshomaru easily side stepped his enemy and then met him with another slash on the back from Bakusaiga as he fell passed him. Hisao collapsed onto his knees involuntarily and for a few seconds remained there, still as a statue.

Standing over him, Sesshomaru pushed the tip of his sword into the back of Hisao's neck. "Tell me how to lift the curse."

Slowly, Hisao looked back over his shoulder at him. The demon's eyes were wide and wild, and blood trickled from one corner of his mouth. He stared at Sesshomaru for one long breath, and then said decidedly, "If I am going to the underworld either way, then I am not going alone."

With astonishing swiftness, he leaped to his feet. Sesshomaru prepared for another ill-conceived attack—and was startled when Hisao instead lunged to the side. An arrow of ice zipped through Sesshomaru's veins when he realized where he was heading. Hisao must have used his last ounce of strength to propel himself toward the platform, because he was there in an instant, claws swiping for Rin's throat.

Sesshomaru did not think. He let his instincts take over as he dove behind the monster attacking Rin and plunged a powerful hand straight through his chest from behind. This time he did not worry about avoiding the heart.

Hisao stopped short with his claws just inches from the child. He gave an unintelligible gurgle and a twitch, and then went limp. Sesshomaru discarded him in disgust. The guard fell to the ground in a heap, quite dead.

Sesshomaru assessed Rin's motionless form just to be sure she had not received any new injuries. But as he did, a new sense of despair edged its way into his mind. He had just killed his only chance at finding out how to save her. Necessary though it may have been, she was now doomed regardless.

Just then his mother cleared her throat. "Well, that was interesting. I really thought he was going to take it with him to the grave, but he must not have been as clever as I imagined. He lost his wits in the midst of his pain."

Sesshomaru looked over at her quickly. She glanced at him sideways with a toying smile twisting her lips. "He gave you the answer when he warned you not to spill your precious blood. The spell resides in her blood, and was cast by a powerful member of the dog demon clan. However, the blood of a more powerful dog demon might just force it out."

Sesshomaru's heart rate increased. Could there really be a way?

"You have obviously proved yourself the superior demon," she continued, "so if a few drops of your blood were to mix with hers, it would probably do the trick. Still, it's risky at best. There's a chance her body would reject it all together, hastening her death." She leaned back in her throne with a huff. "_I _certainly wouldn't have designed it that way."

The _daiyoukai_ looked back at Rin. He would have to take the chance. It was the only one she had left. Without a word, he gathered her up in one arm and strode off into the palace grounds.

A few minutes later he was kneeling down beside her in a secluded room devoid of furnishings inside the property. He did not know what form this curse would take when it left her body. Just in case the magic manifested itself into something tangible, he wanted to make sure it could not get away. Thus, an enclosed space was best. Sesshomaru took just a brief moment to consider the child laying before him on the cold tatami mat floor, knowing full well that what he was about to do would either save her life or destroy it. Reluctantly, he unwrapped the same bandage on her arm that his mother had disturbed earlier. Blood once again beaded up in the cut like water flooding a crevasse. Sesshomaru quickly held out his own wrist just above her. Before bringing Rin here, he had hastily cleaned all remnants of Hisao's blood off of his hands so that he could be sure not to defile Rin with it. Now, with one claw from his other hand, he cut a slit in his skin just deep enough for blood to flow freely. He then turned his arm over so that it would drip straight downward. He watched impatiently as it clotted together and then finally fell in three big drops.

Sesshomaru then withdrew his hand and watched Rin intently. For a few seconds nothing happened as the red and red oozed slowly together on her arm. But after that Rin's face scrunched into a grimace of pain and she involuntarily whimpered. All of a sudden a burst of wind and shadow burst forth from her wound. It looked like a thick darkness engulfed her body before condensing on her arm like a rag absorbing liquid. Then something shot up into the air. It looked like a small, snake-like creature made of shadow and smoke. Its red eyes shone like round embers and when it opened its mouth it produced a high-pitched screech. It wriggled its way free of Rin in a matter of seconds and then swiftly tried to make its escape.

Sesshomaru was faster. The instant it was completely detached from Rin, he swiped his claws into its unstable essence. Surprisingly, there came a sound like ripping paper. With a final squeal, the creature arched backwards and then just dissipated into smoke and ashes that rained down upon the floor. At that same moment, Rin took a deep breath in. He watched quickly as her face relaxed. She gave a long sigh and moved her head to the side. Slight color bloomed on her cheeks, replacing the deathly pale. Instead of deceased, she now looked to be asleep, her chest rising and falling peacefully.

Sesshomaru felt a great weight roll off his shoulders. He could only sit and stare at her for a couple minutes as the deep gloom that had grown in his heart for the past few days gradually lifted. _She's safe..._ he thought. _She's finally safe._ She had endured more than any child should ever have to. But endure she had. Before he could think about it twice, he reached forward and felt her forehead. Thankfully, her skin did not feel as cold as it had earlier. He absently brushed a few strands of her black hair out of her face. She may have been free of the curse, but she still needed proper medical attention. After another lingering moment, he rose and left the room, closing the sliding doors behind him. He needed to find someone still loyal enough to him to tend to her. Which, considering that he had just publically executed the captain of the guard, he did not expect to be too difficult a task.

As he rounded a corner into the rock garden to head for the servants' quarters, he came to a stop. His mother stood there, waiting for him. He looked at her silently, not particularly interested in speaking first.

"Well?" she asked after she had considered him.

"It is done," he replied. "The curse has been removed."

She nodded slightly. "...I suppose I know better than to ask if you would like someone to tend to your wounds."

"This is nothing. She is the one who requires treatment." He hoped that concluded their conversation, but she made no move to step aside and let him pass. His mother fixed him with an intense gaze.

"I hope you realize what I've done for you today Sesshomaru," she said weightily. "I was not thrilled when I first learned of your strange interest in caring for the human child, but I brought her soul back from the underworld for you, and I allowed you to demand that clothes and other supplies be made for her. I thought surely this was just a phase that you were experiencing; that you would eventually come to your senses if I just left you be. But now you have cost me one of my oldest and most powerful servants. Hisao may have acted apart from my wishes, but he was not entirely incorrect. You do seem to have lost yourself. That human is not your child."

"I have taken Rin as my daughter," Sesshomaru said with finality, completely unashamed to say it out loud.

His mother's eyes widened. "Oh really. And have you given any thought to how short human lives are? Even if she remains in good health for all her life, she may live 60 or 70 years at the most. And what about you? Will you still be protecting her when she is an old woman?"

Sesshomaru was fully aware that Rin was mortal. Regardless, he would continue to offer her provision and protection for as long as she needed. If necessary, to the end of her days. He still needed to decide just how involved in her world that would make him. Being with him constantly had put her in frequent danger, but being separated from him had put her in danger as well. He would have time to dwell on where the happy medium resided while Rin recovered.

In any case, he knew that he wanted her to have a happy life among the humans she had come to love. When she was old enough she may even choose to marry one of her own and carry on as humans normally did. That thought was actually a fairly new one for Sesshomaru. He could not imagine that any man would be worthy of her, save perhaps for Kohaku, who had willingly followed the _daiyoukai_ into the _meidou_ to help save Rin. However, that was an issue to be addressed in later years. For now, he simply responded, "I was not aware that a caregiver's affection was dependent upon age."

The mother who had not told her son that she cared for him since he was half her height scowled at the pointed remark. He continued before she could retort, "It does not matter in the least to me if you disagree with my adoption of an unrelated, non-demon child. However, even you can no longer say that Rin and I do not share blood."

And with that he strode around her and went on his way. The Lady Mother sighed and shook her head as his footsteps faded away. "Such a stubborn boy...just like his father." With a shrug she headed off to speak with the head of her household servants. It would be less than a century until the object of Sesshomaru's fatherly affection was removed from the picture anyway. She supposed that as long as he had made up his mind, they all might as well indulge him.

_Author's Note: I finally finished! I apologize for how ridiculously long this chapter took me to get out...I wrestled with it for a long time. At first I was going to do a completely different scene that involved Kohaku coming to the village and discovering that Rin was gone so that I could tie up the loose end about Kitashi. I tried writing it about four different ways, but no matter what I did nothing would come out right. I realized that it would take too much away from the main action, and that it was more important that we get back to Rin and Sesshomaru, so I scrapped what I had and started over._

_Anyway, vengeance is finally served! I hope you enjoyed it. There is still one chapter to come that will wrap things up and provide a bit more closure. Thanks for reading so far!_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Rin awoke very abruptly, and was surprised to discover that she was alive. She thought when last she woke up to find Lord Sesshomaru with her in the forest that she had been granted one final opportunity to tell him goodbye. But somehow she had survived. Now that she was coherent enough to think about it, she realized that she did have some memories of the last few days; images that came through a swirling sea of haziness of feminine faces she did not recognize, framed in white locks of hair. She heard their soft voices murmuring indistinctly. Occasionally she had felt delicate fingers flutter across tender places on her limbs and neck, applying wonderfully cold and damp cloths to painful spots. A few times she remembered being propped up while warm liquid was poured down her throat that tasted like miso and broth. All of this was jumbled around in a confusing mess of dreams until right this moment.

Rin blinked through bleary eyes, wincing as sunlight hit her face. Once her eyesight finally came into focus, she was startled to find a roof over her head. As a matter of fact, she realized now, she was lying on astonishingly soft bedding and was covered in a woven wool blanket. She turned her head slowly to either side. She seemed to be in a very fine, if mostly empty, room with tatami mat floors. It smelled of sweet incense. The wall on her left was made completely of rice paper sliding doors, one of which was partially open to let the sunlight in. Through it she could see a bit of what looked like a rock garden. She watched autumn leaves blowing in the wind as they clung to a tree branch and heard the faint sound of trickling water from some fountain nearby. What was most astonishing, however, were the doors themselves. Painted on the rice paper in various shades of ink were images of a great dog, many times the size of a person. In some he flew through the clouds while in others he faced off against an army of smaller denizens. Rin's eyes went wide as she realized where she must be.

She quickly made to sit up—and found that this was a harder task than she expected. With a groan she came to a halt, and then gradually pulled herself the rest of the way up as her arms and back throbbed. She examined her forearms through teary eyes. Someone must have changed her clothes, for she now wore a plain white yukata. Underneath the sleeves, her arms were wrapped in clean, carefully placed bandages. She gingerly touched the top of one with a single finger, but was surprised to find that it did not hurt as much as she expected. It was painful, surely, but the more she twisted around and focused on different areas of her body, the more she became aware that she was actually feeling much better than she had been that night in the forest.

Suddenly Rin heard a door slide open. Two figures entered through the wall on her right, which apparently led to a dim hallway. She was not sure who they were, but their appearance helped confirm her suspicions about where she was. Both female, they had white hair pulled back in loose ponytails. Their ears were pointed, just like Lord Sesshomaru's, and although they were not dressed in the fine clothes of nobility, they were also not in rags. Their layered kimonos were simple but elegant.

Upon walking in and finding Rin sitting upright, they both started. "Oh! You're awake!" the taller woman said. "Nadeshiko, go and tell Lord Sesshomaru. He said he wanted to be informed the moment she revived." The younger-looking demon nodded and scurried away. The other then continued into the room. She was carrying a tray made of bamboo that had a steaming bowl and a teacup atop it. "So, I see you're recovering well," she said as she came and knelt down beside Rin, setting the tray beside her bedding. "How do you feel?"

"I...I feel better ma'am," Rin said, a bit at a loss. "Forgive me, but...who are you?"

"My name is Shika," she replied calmly. "I'm the head of My Lady's household servants. I was assigned to oversee your recovery."

"Am I really at the dog demon palace?" Rin blurted, completely forgetting her manners.

"Naturally," Shika answered. "I see you remember your first trip here, short as it was. ...You seem surprised. Does it trouble you to be here?"

"No ma'am," Rin said quickly. "But...don't all the demons here want to kill me?"

The demon servant picked the teacup up off the tray. "If you are referring to the curse you were under, you needn't worry about that anymore. Lord Sesshomaru has healed you."

"He has?!" she spurted again. "But how?"

Shika raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you really think he would divulge information like that? He doesn't exactly have the most forthcoming personality." She pushed the warm cup into Rin's hands. "Now. Drink this. It will help you recover your strength. And then we'll see if you can stomach some soup."

"Yes...uh, thank you. Thank you Lady Shika."

She chuckled. "No need for the formalities, child. I suppose technically I should be calling _you_ 'Lady,' but that just doesn't sound right on a human name. Oh, don't get me wrong. Not all dog demons despise humans. I myself do not particularly mind them. They are amusing if nothing else. Still, I have never quite understood the fascination the ruling males of our clan have with humans. First with the Great Dog Demon taking one for a mate, and now with Lord Sesshomaru adopting you as his child."

Rin had just taken a sip of the green tea when she heard this. She had to swallow quickly to keep from choking. "What?" she coughed. Then, still somehow feeling like this demon should be talked to respectfully, rephrased, "I mean—I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

Shika looked surprised. "You weren't told before coming here? Hm, well I guess Lord Sesshomaru may not have made the decision until after the incident with Hisao. He has taken you as his daughter. You are now under the protection of the dog demon clan, which is why I and the other servants have been attending to your health these past few days."

Rin's mouth fell open. She almost dropped the teacup, but luckily managed to lower it onto her lap in time. _Lord Sesshomaru has adopted me? I'm his daughter now?_ She could feel tears welling in her eyes. Her heart suddenly felt so full it could burst. Her lower lip quivered and all at once she began to cry in earnest. This was better than anything she ever could have wished for! Her deepest desire had been granted. She was Sesshomaru's daughter...

Shika watched her silently for a moment and then asked quietly, "Does this displease you?"

The little girl shook her head hastily, rubbing her eyes with her sleeves. "No! It just makes me so happy!"

Shika seemed to relax. "Ah, I see. Well then come now and have some soup before it goes cold. If you don't recover soon, Lord Sesshomaru will take it personally."

Rin discovered that she was in fact very hungry. She sipped a few spoonfuls before she had to stop and rest. Bending her arm repeatedly to bring the spoon to her mouth sent shocks of pain all the way down to her back. After a moment Shika chided her and took over ladling the liquid into Rin's mouth. She then had her drink the remainder of the tea, and instructed her to lay back down and rest. She was asleep again before she quite remembered nodding off.

The next time Rin awoke it was the middle of the night, and Shika had come to take her to relieve herself, for which she was glad after all of the soup and tea. Her demon caretaker then had her eat a small bowl of plain white rice before directing her to go back to sleep.

When morning finally came, Rin stretched and yawned, and sat up without thinking about the pain. _As a matter of fact_, she thought, _I bet I could stand up on my own._

It was a struggle, but after pulling off her blanket, she managed to get her feet underneath her and slowly straighten her knees. She took a few experimental steps. She had discovered last night when following Shika that she had a limp due to the deep cut on her ankle that the _nukekubi_ had given her when dragging her out from underneath the mansion. She glanced down at the bandages wrapped around her lower leg and wondered if they concealed a big red scar. With a deep breath, she continued forward resolutely until she reached the rice paper doors. She shifted her weight to her good leg and then pulled one door open. The cool breeze that greeted her was a refreshing sensation. In the garden beyond, red and yellow leaves drifted down above a small pond. Rin shuffled closer to the edge of the platform to try and see if koi fish were swimming in the water. It all felt so alive and so peaceful.

Entranced by the scenery, she started when a deep voice suddenly said, "Rin."

She spun to her left to see Lord Sesshomaru standing there silently as the wind ruffled his silver hair.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" she cried happily. She scooted to the end of the wooden platform and clumsily lowered herself to the ground below. When her bare feet made contact with the cold grass, a chill shivered up her spine, but she ignored it completely. As fast as her limp would allow, she hurried over to stand before her beloved lord. She smiled up at him radiantly. As always, his face remained expressionless, but she could see the softness in his golden eyes as he watched her intently.

"Are you doing well?" he asked.

"Yes, I feel better!" she assured him. A moment of silence passed between them in which Rin wanted to express her deep gratitude for all he had done for her, but was unsure what to say. She knew he would not be likely to respond, no matter what she said, so instead she just cherished this time she could spend with him so nearby.

Just then Shika poked her head out from the door Rin had just vacated. "Ah child, there you are. Please do come in. You should eat some breakfast."

Rin turned to face her. "Please Miss Shika, may I go on a walk with Lord Sesshomaru first?"

The demon servant blinked a couple times and then looked to Sesshomaru.

"Rin may do as she likes," he said.

Rin threw her hands up excitedly. "Yay!" However, her hands were quickly brought back down to cover her nose as she suddenly sneezed.

Sesshomaru glanced down at her and then looked back at Shika. "Bring her a robe," he ordered.

Shika bowed at the waist. "Yes Lord Sesshomaru." She disappeared inside the room and returned a few moments later to help Rin into a long white kimono jacket. She also brought a pair of tabi to cover her feet and zori sandals for her to walk in. Rin thanked her, and with a nod she took her leave.

Sesshomaru turned and slowly walked toward the garden. Rin hurried after him, dragging her left foot along. Even though he intentionally kept his pace very slow, she still found it difficult to keep up. After a minute or so of struggling, her lame foot caught on the edge of a flat stone in the path. With a gasp she began to stumble, but before she could fall, an impossibly fast hand grabbed her arm and held her up. Rin righted herself and smiled up at Lord Sesshomaru. In the place of saying anything, she grasped three of his long fingers in her small hand. They continued on with her clinging to him in this way, relying on his support to walk steadily.

No words passed between them as they made their way through the solitary garden, but none were needed. It was the type of experience Rin had only dreamed about, and the kind she had never had even with her birth father. A time when it was just the two of them, and nothing else in the world mattered.

After a little while, they turned around and headed back for Rin's recovery room. It was then that Lord Sesshomaru spoke up. "Rin," he said, "after you are healed, I will take you back to your village."

Rin's smile fell off her face. Of course she wanted to see everyone again. Especially Inuyasha. She remembered that it had been he that found her in the tree demon's village in the first place, and he deserved her thanks. But that meant that Lord Sesshomaru was going to be leaving her again.

"You should live among other humans," he continued. "However, once a month I will return for you and bring you here for training."

At this news she cocked her head up at him. "Training?"

He stared straight ahead as he explained, "You do not have to become a fighter, or a demon slayer, unless you so choose. But because I cannot be with you all the time, I would at least like you to be able to defend yourself as much as possible. Do you understand?"

Rin stayed quiet for a moment, taking this in. She pictured herself with a wooden training sword, learning to swing it like Sango could. Most importantly, she pictured herself spending a few days with Lord Sesshomaru every month as he personally trained her. She liked the image. "I understand My Lord," she said.

Nothing else was said on the matter. By the time they returned to where they had started, Rin was exhausted. A servant was there, waiting to tend to her. It was not Shika, but the younger dog demon that had accompanied her the day before. She remained stone faced as she helped Rin back up onto the platform and removed her shoes for her.

"Make sure she is well rested," Lord Sesshomaru commanded.

"Yes My Lord," she replied as she took Rin's outer robe and ushered her back to her bedding.

With a final glance at Rin, he walked on.

As the servant gave her a drink and arranged her blanket around her, Rin noticed that she was much less chatty than Shika. As a matter of fact, she did not meet the little human's eye nor show any hint of a smile. Rin wondered if this demon—Nadeshiko, she thought her name was—did not share Shika's indifference about Lord Sesshomaru's decision to adopt her. Perhaps there was more resentment there about having to tend to a human. And so Rin was sure to thank her politely for her help and wish her a good morning when she left. If she was going to be coming here often in the future, she might as well try and get the demons to like her if she could.

Rin's eyes drooped as soon as she snuggled under her covers. Her visit from Lord Sesshomaru and bright hope for the future set her heart aglow. She did not even care that her legs ached as if she had just run a mile.

Over the course of the next week, Rin received constant care. Every day she could eat a little bit more and walk a little farther. She felt rejuvenated by the hot baths she was given nightly. Her wounds closed to the point that she no longer needed bandages. She had many scars forming all over her body, but even they seemed to shrink a tiny bit each time she examined them. One morning when she woke up, she found two wrapped packages waiting at her bedside. When Shika came in with her breakfast she explained with a smile, "Gifts from Lord Sesshomaru."

Rin sat up and reached for them excitedly. He had brought her many similarly wrapped presents before when he came to visit her in the village. As she untied the string and pulled back the paper on the first one, she had to pause and stare in wonder at the beautiful kimono she found folded there. In the past the clothes he brought for her had always been finely crafted, but most of them were also practical, befitting the life of a little girl running around a village with dirt roads. But this one was different. It faded subtly from white to pink. The fabric was thick and soft. It had been embroidered with silver thread in twisting patterns. She held it up reverently to view the whole thing at once. It had the long sleeves and accompanying thick obi of a _furisode_. The most noticeable feature of all, however, was the trio of hexagonal flowers decorating each shoulder. Rin recognized them in a heartbeat. It was the same pattern Lord Sesshomaru wore on his own clothes. It was the outfit of a nobleman's daughter.

She laid it carefully back down on her lap and then picked up the other package. This one was more oddly shaped. She peeled back the paper curiously. What she uncovered caused her to gape even more than the previous treasure. It was a doll about the length of her arm. In the shape of a human female, its smooth white skin was made from molded resin. It had long, perfectly straight black hair and wore many layers of tiny robes that formed a _juni-hitoe_ style of kimono. Its face was painted white with high black eyebrows and glass eyes. It even had a miniature fan tucked in its little hands. She delicately brushed one finger over the doll's cheek. Over the course of her childhood, Rin had owned very few toys. Her humble farmer family could never afford such frivolous things. She had once made a doll for herself out of dried soybeans stuffed in a rag and tied off in two places. It was one of her greatest treasures when she was young, but when the bandits attacked her home it had been lost, like so many other things. And now... Now she had the most beautiful doll she had ever beheld. Rin closed her eyes and cradled it against her chest.

Shika remained silent for a few minutes before gently convincing her to part with it long enough to eat her breakfast. "You must hurry so that we can dress you in the _furisode._ You are going home today, after all."

"I am?" Rin asked quickly.

"Indeed. There's little more we can do for you here. You will still need time to heal, but actually you've recovered remarkably fast for a human. I thought it would take longer, considering the state you were in when you were first brought here."

She said no more on the matter, but hurried Rin through her meal and then set to the process of dressing her layer by layer. Rin remained obediently still as her obi was arranged just right and her unruly black hair brushed into submission. Shika pulled a portion of Rin's hair together to the side and tied it in a ponytail. She wondered how the demon knew that she liked her hair this way, but did not feel like she should ask. Lastly, Shika brought out a sakura-shaped ornament from within her sleeve that had two strands of beads swaying from it. She arranged this around Rin's ponytail, slipped her feet into the appropriate socks and sandals, and then pronounced her to be ready.

The little girl couldn't help but twirl around a bit, watching joyfully as her long sleeves spun about her body. When she noticed Shika waiting expectantly for her at the door, Rin gathered up her precious doll and shuffled after her. She noticed as they walked down the hallway and out into the sunlight that her left leg no longer required her to limp. The only hindrance she found in stepping down the stairs into an open courtyard was the unfamiliar confines of the heavy kimono tight about her legs.

Once they reached the bottom of the steps and Shika stepped aside, Rin looked up to find both Lord Sesshomaru and his mother waiting for her under the shadow of a mostly bare maple tree. Grinning from ear to ear, she scurried over to them. She smiled up at Sesshomaru first, then turned to bow respectfully to his mother.

"I see your health has been restored swiftly," she remarked.

Rin nodded up at her. "Yes My Lady. Thank you."

The demon took a step toward her, looking intently at her face. "Hmm," she said thoughtfully. She lifted Rin's chin up with one clawed finger, considering her. "Perhaps that blood has done more for you than we bargained for."

Rin looked at her in confusion. She noticed Lord Sesshomaru glare at his mother with his usual displeasure. She wanted to ask what she meant, but doubted that either of them would be likely to offer her an explanation even if she did.

"Are you ready Rin?" Lord Sesshomaru asked, ending the matter.

"Yes My Lord!" she replied.

"Then we're leaving."

"Yes sir." She bowed again to the Lady Mother and then spun around to face Shika. "Thank you for everything!" she told them both.

The demon servant gave a small smile. "Until next time, daughter of Sesshomaru."

Rin turned happily back to her lord. Only then did it occur to her to wonder how exactly he was planning on taking her home. She may have been feeling immensely better, but her strength was not quite back to normal, and walking such a long way in her current outfit would prove challenging. And without Ah-Un to ride on...

Rin gasped in surprise as suddenly she was lifted straight off her feet. Sesshomaru barely had her secured in his arms before he launched into the sky. The demon property shrank quickly below them as Rin clung to him, her heart pounding. She watched in amazement as mountains became clouds and the morning sunlight spilled out in the great expanse before them. Lord Sesshomaru had _never_ carried her on his own like this before as far as she knew. Now that she thought about it, he must have carried her to the dog demon palace in the first place, but he had certainly never dared such a thing while she was conscious.

A single trail of tears left her eyes and pattered against his chestplate as she remembered the dream she had had right before she had been kidnapped by Rikuto. This truly was like a dream come true. Rin laid back against his shoulder furs and shut her eyes, clutching her doll close to her heart with both arms. As she leaned her head against his chest she could hear his powerful heart beating steadily. In that moment, she felt like she had never been so incandescently happy in all her life.

Sweat trickled down Inuyasha's brow as he pounded at another nail with an iron hammer. He sat atop Sango and Miroku's roof, straddling the new wooden beam. Their replacement roof was almost done. Miroku was opposite him, likewise nailing the last boards into place. Since returning to the village, Inuyasha had thrown himself into helping repair the damage wrought by the earthquake, finding solace from his frustration and worry in the physical activity.

He would never forget the looks of despair on Kagome and Sango's faces when he came home several days ago, well bloodied and very noticeably _without_ Rin. He hated having to tell them that although he had saved her from death at the hands of the demons, he had no guarantee that Sesshomaru was going to be able to lift her curse or prevent her from dying from her wounds.

Of course both the women had tried to comfort Inuyasha by saying he had done everything he could, and pretending to have confidence that Sesshomaru would bring her home soon. But as the days wore on, he became more and more disappointed with himself for not finding Rin sooner, for not being able to help her more, and for letting her get taken in the first place. Every time Kagome looked out at the hills wistfully, as if waiting for someone to appear, and every time Sango's daughters asked her where their "big sister" was, Inuyasha's chest felt a little hollower.

He swung his hammer angrily at a new nail, trying to banish his thoughts. It didn't help matters that Jaken had come wandering into the village a couple days ago, absolutely unglued. He told them his pitiful tale of losing Sesshomaru in the woods, and how he had finally decided to come here in hopes that he might find him. Inuyasha had been very tempted to put the annoying demon out of his misery due to the wailing that ensued when he learned that his lord was not here either. He had been hanging around ever since, leading around that weird two-headed demon and getting on everyone's nerves with his constant bawling.

_And then this morning..._ Inuyasha thought as he clenched a spare nail between his teeth a little too tightly. This morning Kohaku had arrived for a surprise visit to his sister, only to find the village damaged and his friend missing. Sango spent all day talking him out of rushing off to Rin's rescue, which would do absolutely no good considering that even Inuyasha could not tell where Sesshomaru had taken her.

The half demon spit the nail out of his mouth and was about to pound it into the wood too when a hand caught his arm.

"I think that's good Inuyasha. That board's not going anywhere," Miroku said.

Inuyasha looked down at the spot he had been working on. There were at least five nails all in about the same place. He had not been paying much attention to his work. "Uh, right..."

The monk headed to the ladder that was propped against his house. "It's almost sunset. You should call it a day."

Inuyasha sighed, dreading the thought of spending another sleepless night thinking over everything he could have done differently. He looked up at the clouds, letting the cold wind wrap around him. He took another deep breath in, preparing to jump down from the roof—and all of a sudden he froze. He breathed in again, this time scrutinizing the smell on the wind. This scent...

"Inuyasha," Kagome called from the ground. "Come on down and let's have some dinner."

He looked down at her quickly. Her arm was in a sling, but this had not slowed her down at all where housework and helping the villagers were concerned. "Kagome... I smell Sesshomaru."

Her eyes went wide. "You do? Where?!"

"He's approaching from the north," he answered, sniffing again.

"He is? Can you smell Rin with him?" she asked hastily.

Inuyasha paused, concentrating. And then his heart dropped. The only scent present was that of a dog demon. But why would Sesshomaru return without Rin? Could it be that... _Oh no._ What if he was only coming back to bring her dead body home? But Inuyasha also did not detect the smell of a corpse.

"Stay here Kagome!" he shouted and swiftly jumped from the roof.

"Wait Inuyasha!" his wife cried in protest.

But he did not slow. He ran to the outskirts of the village as rapidly as he could. He had to know the answer to this riddle, and if it was only Rin's body that had returned, he wanted to spare Kagome and Sango that sight as long as possible. He came to a halt when he saw the white form of Sesshomaru descending overhead.

As he drifted down into view, Inuyasha very clearly saw a small figure in his arms. And then that figure lifted one hand and waved excitedly at him.

"Lord Inuyasha!"

Rin's voice was like a sigh of relief after a long minute of holding your breath. Sesshomaru touched down a few yards away and set Rin lightly on her feet. Immediately, she ran over to the half demon. With unexpected agility, she leapt up and threw both of her arms around his neck. With an "oof" he was almost thrown off his balance and had to kneel down so that she could stand as she hugged him. "Hi Rin," he said breathlessly.

"Thank you," she whispered as she squeezed him. "Thank you for coming to rescue me!"

Inuyasha felt his cheeks heating up and pointedly avoided eye contact with Sesshomaru. He placed one hand on her back. "You're welcome..."

She made no sign of letting go soon, and as she stood in such close proximity, Inuyasha got a good sample of her scent. She was dressed in a beautiful kimono that smelled strongly of dog demon. This must have been what masked her usual scent from afar. There was something else too though... Something...different about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but somehow Rin smelled very similar to a dog demon herself.

"Oh Rin-chan, you're all right!" Kagome's voice came from behind Inuyasha. Finally Rin released the half demon and bounded over to Kagome. "We were so worried about you!" the young priestess cried as she fell to her knees and wrapped her good arm around Rin. After a quick hug, she pulled her back to examine her more closely. "How are your injuries? How do you feel? What about the curse?"

"It's okay!" Rin assured her. "I'm all right now. Lord Sesshomaru saved me!"

Inuyasha stood, folding his hands inside his sleeves. He glanced at the silent Sesshomaru. He strongly suspected that whatever Sesshomaru had done to remove the spell, Rin's new scent had something to do with it.

"Rin!" This time it was Kohaku's voice. Inuyasha watched as he sprinted toward them at full speed, the tiny Kirara at his heels.

Rin beamed and hurried to meet him. "Kohaku-kun!"

Kohaku came to a skidding halt when he reached her. "Are you okay?!" he asked as he caught his breath.

"Yes, I'm fine!" she answered as she bent down to scoop up Kirara. The demon kitten purred and licked her cheeks, which made Rin giggle.

"I, uh...missed you..." Kohaku muttered like the awkward preteen that he was.

"I missed you too!" she replied simply, apparently oblivious to his discomfort.

Inuyasha guessed that the blush rising on Kohaku's face had nothing to do with his short run. He also noticed that Sesshomaru seemed to be watching their exchange with particular interest.

Just then a pathetically desperate, "Lord Sesshomaruuuu!" sounded overhead. Inuyasha did not need to glance up to know that it was Jaken approaching on Ah-Un. The two-headed demon horse landed before Sesshomaru with a _thud_ that shook the earth and Jaken scrambled to the ground. "My Lord! Where have you been?! I searched everywhere for you!" He fell down in front of his Lord, continuing to wail his distress. Sesshomaru glanced at him, but naturally said nothing to answer his inquiries.

Rin laughed as she put Kirara down. "Silly Master Jaken! You should know that Lord Sesshomaru will always return!"

"Oh, Rin!" Jaken said, evidentially just noticing her presence. "You're back!"

"We're leaving Jaken," Sesshomaru announced suddenly.

"What? Just like that?" the little demon croaked.

Sesshomaru turned, looking toward the sky. But before he could leave the ground, Rin called, "Wait!" He paused, turning his attention back to her.

Without a word, she dashed straight up to him and hugged his legs. "I love you Lord Sesshomaru," she said quietly.

Inuyasha tried not to let his shock show. It was not Rin's sincerity that astounded him, but Sesshomaru's complacency. He seemed content to let her hug him as long as she liked. He said nothing to dissuade her, and had the most usual expression on his face. It was almost like a _smile._ Inuyasha bet that was probably the closest thing to a non-smug smile he had ever achieved. Jaken nearly choked.

When Rin pulled back, she produced some kind of fine doll from inside her long sleeve and held it tight against her chest. With a final tender look up at Sesshomaru, she returned to Kagome. She took the young priestess's hand and said, "Let's go see Miss Sango!"

Kohaku and Kirara followed them back toward the village, but Inuyasha stayed behind. He waited a moment as Sesshomaru watched Rin depart. When she was a good ways off, Inuyasha said, "I probably already know the answer to this, but you're not going to bother telling me what you did to save Rin, or why her scent has changed, are you?"

As expected, Sesshomaru did not meet his eye, but instead turned to leave once more. "I will return for Rin within a month. Come Jaken."

"Ah, yes My Lord!" His bumbling servant clambered atop Ah-Un and hurried to follow Sesshomaru as the _daiyoukai _lifted into the air.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as they flew away. He knew better than to expect anything else out of his half-brother. He made his way back into the village and arrived in time to see Rin going through a round of hugs with a very relieved Sango and Miroku. Ayaka and Hiromi clung to her legs. One of them admired her doll and the other asked if Rin had become a princess. This was probably a reference to her fine raiment. It was not lost on Inuyasha that her kimono bore Sesshomaru's crest. He must have had it specially made for her somewhere. Perhaps when she told everyone her story, a few questions would be answered.

As Shippo approached Rin and made a very humble apology for trying to attack her while under the effects of the curse (to which she just laughed and said, "It's okay. I don't even remember it!"), Kagome came to Inuyasha's side. She took his arm in her own and leaned into him. "You see?" she said softly. "I knew you could do it."

"Do what?" he asked.

"Work together with Sesshomaru. You both saved her."

"Keh. He tried to kill me at least once."

Kagome chuckled. "And yet there seems to be more to him than meets the eye. I think Rin is slowly breaking down the barrier around his heart."

"Kind of like you broke mine." He knew that was a cheesy thing to say, but sometimes, when her intoxicating scent was so close, those sorts of things just slipped out.

His wife gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I know you'll make a great father someday, because you already make a great uncle."

"Keh..."

_**Author's Note:**__ I finally finished it! When I started this fanfic, I had no idea it would end up being so long, or taking me so long to finish. But I enjoyed every bit of it. I hope you all did too! I intentionally left details about the effects of Sesshomaru's blood inside Rin vague. I'd like to leave the future open to the reader's imagination. It seems clear that his healing powers helped her recover quicker than she should have, but aside from that she may or may not have inherited any other of Sesshomaru's abilities. If anything, they would be slight. She is still human. But it may help her when learning to fight in the future._

_Thank you all for taking this journey with me, Inuyasha, Rin, and Sesshomaru. We all appreciate you very much!_

_And just in case I haven't mentioned it before, here's the official disclaimer: _

_Inuyasha is copyright of Rumiko Takahashi. Plot and original characters of this story belong to me._


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